Articles | Volume 13, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2977-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2977-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
13 Nov 2019
Research article |
| 13 Nov 2019
| 13 Nov 2019
Recent glacier and lake changes in High Mountain Asia and their relation to precipitation changes
Désirée Treichler
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Sem Sælands vei 1, 0371 Oslo, Norway
Andreas Kääb
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Sem Sælands vei 1, 0371 Oslo, Norway
Nadine Salzmann
Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 4, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
Chong-Yu Xu
Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Sem Sælands vei 1, 0371 Oslo, Norway
Related authors
Livia Piermattei, Michael Zemp, Christian Sommer, Fanny Brun, Matthias H. Braun, Liss M. Andreassen, Joaquín M. C. Belart, Etienne Berthier, Atanu Bhattacharya, Laura Boehm Vock, Tobias Bolch, Amaury Dehecq, Inés Dussaillant, Daniel Falaschi, Caitlyn Florentine, Dana Floricioiu, Christian Ginzler, Gregoire Guillet, Romain Hugonnet, Matthias Huss, Andreas Kääb, Owen King, Christoph Klug, Friedrich Knuth, Lukas Krieger, Jeff La Frenierre, Robert McNabb, Christopher McNeil, Rainer Prinz, Louis Sass, Thorsten Seehaus, David Shean, Désirée Treichler, Anja Wendt, and Ruitang Yang
The Cryosphere, 18, 3195–3230, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Satellites have made it possible to observe glacier elevation changes from all around the world. In the present study, we compared the results produced from two different types of satellite data between different research groups and against validation measurements from aeroplanes. We found a large spread between individual results but showed that the group ensemble can be used to reliably estimate glacier elevation changes and related errors from satellite data.
Marco Mazzolini, Kristoffer Aalstad, Esteban Alonso-González, Sebastian Westermann, and Désirée Treichler
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1404, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1404, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this work, we use the satellite laser altimeter ICESat-2 to retrieve snow depth in areas where snow amounts are still poorly estimated despite the high societal importance. We explore how to update snow models with these observations through algorithms that spatially propagate the information beyond the narrow satellite profiles. The positive results show the potential of this approach for improving snow simulations, both in terms of average snow depth and spatial distribution.
Esteban Alonso-González, Kristoffer Aalstad, Norbert Pirk, Marco Mazzolini, Désirée Treichler, Paul Leclercq, Sebastian Westermann, Juan Ignacio López-Moreno, and Simon Gascoin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4637–4659, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4637-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4637-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Here we explore how to improve hyper-resolution (5 m) distributed snowpack simulations using sparse observations, which do not provide information from all the areas of the simulation domain. We propose a new way of propagating information throughout the simulations adapted to the hyper-resolution, which could also be used to improve simulations of other nature. The method has been implemented in an open-source data assimilation tool that is readily accessible to everyone.
Frank Paul, Livia Piermattei, Désirée Treichler, Lin Gilbert, Luc Girod, Andreas Kääb, Ludivine Libert, Thomas Nagler, Tazio Strozzi, and Jan Wuite
The Cryosphere, 16, 2505–2526, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2505-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2505-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Glacier surges are widespread in the Karakoram and have been intensely studied using satellite data and DEMs. We use time series of such datasets to study three glacier surges in the same region of the Karakoram. We found strongly contrasting advance rates and flow velocities, maximum velocities of 30 m d−1, and a change in the surge mechanism during a surge. A sensor comparison revealed good agreement, but steep terrain and the two smaller glaciers caused limitations for some of them.
Désirée Treichler and Andreas Kääb
The Cryosphere, 10, 2129–2146, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2129-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2129-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Satellite data are often the only source of information on mountain glaciers. We show that data from ICESat laser satellite can accurately reflect glacier volume development in 2003–2008, also for individual years. We detect a spatially varying elevation bias in commonly used data sets, and provide a correction that strongly increases the significance of the glacier change estimates – a crucial driver of climate-induced meltwater changes that directly affect the life of lowland populations.
A. Kääb, D. Treichler, C. Nuth, and E. Berthier
The Cryosphere, 9, 557–564, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-557-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-557-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Based on satellite laser altimetry over the Pamir--Karakoram Himalaya we detect strongest elevation losses over east Nyainqentanglha Shan and Spiti--Lahaul but slight elevation gains over west Kunlun Shan rather than over Karakoram. The current sea-level contribution of Pamir--Karakoram Himalaya glaciers is about 10% of the total global contribution of glaciers outside the ice sheets. We also improve estimates of glacier imbalance contribution to river discharge in the Himalayas.
Juditha Aga, Livia Piermattei, Luc Girod, Kristoffer Aalstad, Trond Eiken, Andreas Kääb, and Sebastian Westermann
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 1049–1070, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1049-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1049-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Coastal rock cliffs on Svalbard are considered to be fairly stable; however, long-term trends in coastal-retreat rates remain unknown. This study examines changes in the coastline position along Brøggerhalvøya, Svalbard, using aerial images from 1970, 1990, 2010, and 2021. Our analysis shows that coastal-retreat rates accelerate during the period 2010–2021, which coincides with increasing storminess and retreating sea ice.
Diego Cusicanqui, Pascal Lacroix, Xavier Bodin, Benjamin Aubrey Robson, Andreas Kääb, and Shelley MacDonell
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2393, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2393, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents for the first time a robust methodological approach to detect and analyse rock glacier kinematics using 24 years of Landsat 7/8 imagery. Within a small region in the semi-arid andes, 382 movements were monitored showing an average velocity of 0.3 ± 0.07 m yr-1, with rock glaciers moving faster. We highlight the value of integrating optical imagery and radar interferometry supporting monitoring of rock glacier kinematics, using available medium-resolution optical imagery.
Livia Piermattei, Michael Zemp, Christian Sommer, Fanny Brun, Matthias H. Braun, Liss M. Andreassen, Joaquín M. C. Belart, Etienne Berthier, Atanu Bhattacharya, Laura Boehm Vock, Tobias Bolch, Amaury Dehecq, Inés Dussaillant, Daniel Falaschi, Caitlyn Florentine, Dana Floricioiu, Christian Ginzler, Gregoire Guillet, Romain Hugonnet, Matthias Huss, Andreas Kääb, Owen King, Christoph Klug, Friedrich Knuth, Lukas Krieger, Jeff La Frenierre, Robert McNabb, Christopher McNeil, Rainer Prinz, Louis Sass, Thorsten Seehaus, David Shean, Désirée Treichler, Anja Wendt, and Ruitang Yang
The Cryosphere, 18, 3195–3230, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Satellites have made it possible to observe glacier elevation changes from all around the world. In the present study, we compared the results produced from two different types of satellite data between different research groups and against validation measurements from aeroplanes. We found a large spread between individual results but showed that the group ensemble can be used to reliably estimate glacier elevation changes and related errors from satellite data.
Zhen Cui, Shenglian Guo, Hua Chen, Dedi Liu, Yanlai Zhou, and Chong-Yu Xu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2809–2829, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2809-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2809-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Ensemble forecasting facilitates reliable flood forecasting and warning. This study couples the copula-based hydrologic uncertainty processor (CHUP) with Bayesian model averaging (BMA) and proposes the novel CHUP-BMA method of reducing inflow forecasting uncertainty of the Three Gorges Reservoir. The CHUP-BMA avoids the normal distribution assumption in the HUP-BMA and considers the constraint of initial conditions, which can improve the deterministic and probabilistic forecast performance.
Marco Mazzolini, Kristoffer Aalstad, Esteban Alonso-González, Sebastian Westermann, and Désirée Treichler
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1404, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1404, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this work, we use the satellite laser altimeter ICESat-2 to retrieve snow depth in areas where snow amounts are still poorly estimated despite the high societal importance. We explore how to update snow models with these observations through algorithms that spatially propagate the information beyond the narrow satellite profiles. The positive results show the potential of this approach for improving snow simulations, both in terms of average snow depth and spatial distribution.
Tian Lan, Tongfang Li, Hongbo Zhang, Jiefeng Wu, Yongqin David Chen, and Chong-Yu Xu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-118, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-118, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
This study develops an integrated framework based on the novel Driving index for changes in Precipitation-Runoff Relationships (DPRR) to explore the controls for changes in precipitation-runoff relationships in non-stationary environments. According to the quantitative results of the candidate driving factors, the possible process explanations for changes in the precipitation-runoff relationships are deduced. The main contribution offers a comprehensive understanding of hydrological processes.
Jinghua Xiong, Shenglian Guo, Abhishek, Jiabo Yin, Chongyu Xu, Jun Wang, and Jing Guo
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1873–1895, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1873-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1873-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Temporal variability and spatial heterogeneity of climate systems challenge accurate estimation of probable maximum precipitation (PMP) in China. We use high-resolution precipitation data and climate models to explore the variability, trends, and shifts of PMP under climate change. Validated with multi-source estimations, our observations and simulations show significant spatiotemporal divergence of PMP over the country, which is projected to amplify in future due to land–atmosphere coupling.
Kun Xie, Lu Li, Hua Chen, Stephanie Mayer, Andreas Dobler, Chong-Yu Xu, and Ozan Mert Gokturk
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-68, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-68, 2024
Preprint under review for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
We compared extreme precipitations in Norway from convection-permitting models at 3 km resolution (HCLIM3) and regional climate model at 12 km (HCLIM12) and show that the HCLIM3 is more accurate than HCLIM12 in predicting the intense rainfalls that can lead to floods, especially at local scales. This is more clear in hourly extremes than daily. Our research suggests using more detailed climate models could improve forecasts, helping the local society brace for the impacts of extreme weather.
Esteban Alonso-González, Kristoffer Aalstad, Norbert Pirk, Marco Mazzolini, Désirée Treichler, Paul Leclercq, Sebastian Westermann, Juan Ignacio López-Moreno, and Simon Gascoin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4637–4659, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4637-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4637-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Here we explore how to improve hyper-resolution (5 m) distributed snowpack simulations using sparse observations, which do not provide information from all the areas of the simulation domain. We propose a new way of propagating information throughout the simulations adapted to the hyper-resolution, which could also be used to improve simulations of other nature. The method has been implemented in an open-source data assimilation tool that is readily accessible to everyone.
Danielle M. Barna, Kolbjørn Engeland, Thomas Kneib, Thordis L. Thorarinsdottir, and Chong-Yu Xu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2335, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2335, 2023
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
Estimating flood quantiles at data-scarce sites often involves single-duration regression models. However, floodplain management and reservoir design, for example, need estimates at several durations, posing challenges. Our flexible generalized additive model (GAM) enhances accuracy and explanation, revealing that single-duration models may underperform elsewhere, emphasizing the need for adaptable approaches.
Pengxiang Wang, Zuhao Zhou, Jiajia Liu, Chongyu Xu, Kang Wang, Yangli Liu, Jia Li, Yuqing Li, Yangwen Jia, and Hao Wang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 2681–2701, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2681-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2681-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Considering the impact of the special geological and climatic conditions of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau on the hydrological cycle, this study established the WEP-QTP hydrological model. The snow cover and gravel layers affected the temporal and spatial changes in frozen soil and improved the regulation of groundwater on the flow process. Ignoring he influence of special underlying surface conditions has a great impact on the hydrological forecast and water resource utilization in this area.
Andreas Kääb and Luc Girod
The Cryosphere, 17, 2533–2541, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2533-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2533-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Following the detachment of the 130 × 106 m3 Sedongpu Glacier (south-eastern Tibet) in 2018, the Sedongpu Valley underwent massive large-volume landscape changes. An enormous volume of in total around 330 × 106 m3 was rapidly eroded, forming a new canyon of up to 300 m depth, 1 km width, and almost 4 km length. Such consequences of glacier change in mountains have so far not been considered at this magnitude and speed.
Sebastian Westermann, Thomas Ingeman-Nielsen, Johanna Scheer, Kristoffer Aalstad, Juditha Aga, Nitin Chaudhary, Bernd Etzelmüller, Simon Filhol, Andreas Kääb, Cas Renette, Louise Steffensen Schmidt, Thomas Vikhamar Schuler, Robin B. Zweigel, Léo Martin, Sarah Morard, Matan Ben-Asher, Michael Angelopoulos, Julia Boike, Brian Groenke, Frederieke Miesner, Jan Nitzbon, Paul Overduin, Simone M. Stuenzi, and Moritz Langer
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 2607–2647, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-2607-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-2607-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The CryoGrid community model is a new tool for simulating ground temperatures and the water and ice balance in cold regions. It is a modular design, which makes it possible to test different schemes to simulate, for example, permafrost ground in an efficient way. The model contains tools to simulate frozen and unfrozen ground, snow, glaciers, and other massive ice bodies, as well as water bodies.
Fuming Xie, Shiyin Liu, Yongpeng Gao, Yu Zhu, Tobias Bolch, Andreas Kääb, Shimei Duan, Wenfei Miao, Jianfang Kang, Yaonan Zhang, Xiran Pan, Caixia Qin, Kunpeng Wu, Miaomiao Qi, Xianhe Zhang, Ying Yi, Fengze Han, Xiaojun Yao, Qiao Liu, Xin Wang, Zongli Jiang, Donghui Shangguan, Yong Zhang, Richard Grünwald, Muhammad Adnan, Jyoti Karki, and Muhammad Saifullah
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 847–867, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-847-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-847-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, first we generated inventories which allowed us to systematically detect glacier change patterns in the Karakoram range. We found that, by the 2020s, there were approximately 10 500 glaciers in the Karakoram mountains covering an area of 22 510.73 km2, of which ~ 10.2 % is covered by debris. During the past 30 years (from 1990 to 2020), the total glacier cover area in Karakoram remained relatively stable, with a slight increase in area of 23.5 km2.
Maximillian Van Wyk de Vries, Shashank Bhushan, Mylène Jacquemart, César Deschamps-Berger, Etienne Berthier, Simon Gascoin, David E. Shean, Dan H. Shugar, and Andreas Kääb
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3309–3327, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3309-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3309-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
On 7 February 2021, a large rock–ice avalanche occurred in Chamoli, Indian Himalaya. The resulting debris flow swept down the nearby valley, leaving over 200 people dead or missing. We use a range of satellite datasets to investigate how the collapse area changed prior to collapse. We show that signs of instability were visible as early 5 years prior to collapse. However, it would likely not have been possible to predict the timing of the event from current satellite datasets.
Shanlin Tong, Weiguang Wang, Jie Chen, Chong-Yu Xu, Hisashi Sato, and Guoqing Wang
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 7075–7098, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7075-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7075-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Plant carbon storage potential is central to moderate atmospheric CO2 concentration buildup and mitigation of climate change. There is an ongoing debate about the main driver of carbon storage. To reconcile this discrepancy, we use SEIB-DGVM to investigate the trend and response mechanism of carbon stock fractions among water limitation regions. Results show that the impact of CO2 and temperature on carbon stock depends on water limitation, offering a new perspective on carbon–water coupling.
Frank Paul, Livia Piermattei, Désirée Treichler, Lin Gilbert, Luc Girod, Andreas Kääb, Ludivine Libert, Thomas Nagler, Tazio Strozzi, and Jan Wuite
The Cryosphere, 16, 2505–2526, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2505-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2505-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Glacier surges are widespread in the Karakoram and have been intensely studied using satellite data and DEMs. We use time series of such datasets to study three glacier surges in the same region of the Karakoram. We found strongly contrasting advance rates and flow velocities, maximum velocities of 30 m d−1, and a change in the surge mechanism during a surge. A sensor comparison revealed good agreement, but steep terrain and the two smaller glaciers caused limitations for some of them.
Bas Altena, Andreas Kääb, and Bert Wouters
The Cryosphere, 16, 2285–2300, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2285-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2285-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Repeat overflights of satellites are used to estimate surface displacements. However, such products lack a simple error description for individual measurements, but variation in precision occurs, since the calculation is based on the similarity of texture. Fortunately, variation in precision manifests itself in the correlation peak, which is used for the displacement calculation. This spread is used to make a connection to measurement precision, which can be of great use for model inversion.
Isabelle Gärtner-Roer, Nina Brunner, Reynald Delaloye, Wilfried Haeberli, Andreas Kääb, and Patrick Thee
The Cryosphere, 16, 2083–2101, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2083-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2083-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We intensely investigated the Gruben site in the Swiss Alps, where glaciers and permafrost landforms closely interact, to better understand cold-climate environments. By the interpretation of air photos from 5 decades, we describe long-term developments of the existing landforms. In combination with high-resolution positioning measurements and ground surface temperatures, we were also able to link these to short-term changes and describe different landform responses to climate forcing.
Rebecca Gugerli, Darin Desilets, and Nadine Salzmann
The Cryosphere, 16, 799–806, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-799-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-799-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Monitoring the snow water equivalent (SWE) in high mountain regions is highly important and a challenge. We explore the use of muon counts to infer SWE temporally continuously. We deployed muonic cosmic ray snow gauges (µ-CRSG) on a Swiss glacier over the winter 2020/21. Evaluated with manual SWE measurements and SWE estimates inferred from neutron counts, we conclude that the µ-CRSG is a highly promising method for remote high mountain regions with several advantages over other current methods.
Tazio Strozzi, Andreas Wiesmann, Andreas Kääb, Thomas Schellenberger, and Frank Paul
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-44, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-44, 2022
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Knowledge on surface velocity of glaciers and ice caps contributes to a better understanding of a wide range of processes related to glacier dynamics, mass change and response to climate. Based on the release of historical satellite radar data from various space agencies we compiled nearly complete mosaics of winter ice surface velocities for the 1990's over the Eastern Arctic. Compared to the present state, we observe a general increase of ice velocities along with a retreat of glacier fronts.
Pengxiang Wang, Zuhao Zhou, Jiajia Liu, Chongyu Xu, Kang Wang, Yangli Liu, Jia Li, Yuqing Li, Yangwen Jia, and Hao Wang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2021-538, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2021-538, 2021
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
Combining the geological characteristics of the thin soil layer on the thick gravel layer and the climate characteristics of the long-term snow cover of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the WEP-QTP hydrological model was constructed by dividing a single soil structure into soil and gravel. In contrast to the general cold area, the special environment of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau affects the hydrothermal transport process, which can not be ignored in hydrological forecast and water resource assessment.
Paul Willem Leclercq, Andreas Kääb, and Bas Altena
The Cryosphere, 15, 4901–4907, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4901-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4901-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study we present a novel method to detect glacier surge activity. Surges are relevant as they disturb the link between glacier change and climate, and studying surges can also increase understanding of glacier flow. We use variations in Sentinel-1 radar backscatter strength, calculated with the use of Google Earth Engine, to detect surge activity. In our case study for the year 2018–2019 we find 69 cases of surging glaciers globally. Many of these were not previously known to be surging.
Qifen Yuan, Thordis L. Thorarinsdottir, Stein Beldring, Wai Kwok Wong, and Chong-Yu Xu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5259–5275, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5259-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5259-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Localized impacts of changing precipitation patterns on surface hydrology are often assessed at a high spatial resolution. Here we introduce a stochastic method that efficiently generates gridded daily precipitation in a future climate. The method works out a stochastic model that can describe a high-resolution data product in a reference period and form a realistic precipitation generator under a projected future climate. A case study of nine catchments in Norway shows that it works well.
Andreas Kääb, Mylène Jacquemart, Adrien Gilbert, Silvan Leinss, Luc Girod, Christian Huggel, Daniel Falaschi, Felipe Ugalde, Dmitry Petrakov, Sergey Chernomorets, Mikhail Dokukin, Frank Paul, Simon Gascoin, Etienne Berthier, and Jeffrey S. Kargel
The Cryosphere, 15, 1751–1785, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1751-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1751-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Hardly recognized so far, giant catastrophic detachments of glaciers are a rare but great potential for loss of lives and massive damage in mountain regions. Several of the events compiled in our study involve volumes (up to 100 million m3 and more), avalanche speeds (up to 300 km/h), and reaches (tens of kilometres) that are hard to imagine. We show that current climate change is able to enhance associated hazards. For the first time, we elaborate a set of factors that could cause these events.
Andreas Kääb, Tazio Strozzi, Tobias Bolch, Rafael Caduff, Håkon Trefall, Markus Stoffel, and Alexander Kokarev
The Cryosphere, 15, 927–949, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-927-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-927-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We present a map of rock glacier motion over parts of the northern Tien Shan and time series of surface speed for six of them over almost 70 years.
This is by far the most detailed investigation of this kind available for central Asia.
We detect a 2- to 4-fold increase in rock glacier motion between the 1950s and present, which we attribute to atmospheric warming.
Relative to the shrinking glaciers in the region, this implies increased importance of periglacial sediment transport.
Rebecca Gugerli, Matteo Guidicelli, Marco Gabella, Matthias Huss, and Nadine Salzmann
Adv. Sci. Res., 18, 7–20, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-18-7-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-18-7-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
To obtain reliable snowfall estimates in high mountain remains a challenge. This study uses daily snow water equivalent (SWE) estimates by a cosmic ray sensor on two Swiss glaciers to assess three
readily-available high-quality precipitation products. We find a large bias between in situ SWE and snowfall, which differs among the precipitation products, the two sites, the winter seasons and in situ meteorological conditions. All products have great potential for various applications in the Alps.
Tian Lan, Kairong Lin, Chong-Yu Xu, Zhiyong Liu, and Huayang Cai
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 5859–5874, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5859-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5859-2020, 2020
Andreas Alexander, Jaroslav Obu, Thomas V. Schuler, Andreas Kääb, and Hanne H. Christiansen
The Cryosphere, 14, 4217–4231, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4217-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4217-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In this study we present subglacial air, ice and sediment temperatures from within the basal drainage systems of two cold-based glaciers on Svalbard during late spring and the summer melt season. We put the data into the context of air temperature and rainfall at the glacier surface and show the importance of surface events on the subglacial thermal regime and erosion around basal drainage channels. Observed vertical erosion rates thereby reachup to 0.9 m d−1.
Zhengke Pan, Pan Liu, Chong-Yu Xu, Lei Cheng, Jing Tian, Shujie Cheng, and Kang Xie
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 4369–4387, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4369-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4369-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study aims to identify the response of catchment water storage capacity (CWSC) to meteorological drought by examining the changes of hydrological-model parameters after drought events. This study improves our understanding of possible changes in the CWSC induced by a prolonged meteorological drought, which will help improve our ability to simulate the hydrological system under climate change.
Wenyan Qi, Jie Chen, Lu Li, Chong-yu Xu, Jingjing Li, Yiheng Xiang, and Shaobo Zhang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2020-127, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2020-127, 2020
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
Global hydrological models (GHMs) play important roles in global water resources estimation and it is difficult to obtain parameter values for GHMs. A framework is developed for building GHMs based on parameter regionalization of catchment scale conceptual hydrological models. Four different GHMs established based on this framework can produce reliable streamflow simulations. Over all, it can be used with any conceptual hydrological model even though uncertainty exists in using different models.
Tian Lan, Kairong Lin, Chong-Yu Xu, Xuezhi Tan, and Xiaohong Chen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1347–1366, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1347-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1347-2020, 2020
Andreas Alexander, Maarja Kruusmaa, Jeffrey A. Tuhtan, Andrew J. Hodson, Thomas V. Schuler, and Andreas Kääb
The Cryosphere, 14, 1009–1023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1009-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1009-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This work shows the potential of pressure and inertia sensing drifters to measure flow parameters along glacial channels. The technology allows us to record the spatial distribution of water pressures, as well as an estimation of the flow velocity along the flow path in the channels. The measurements show a high repeatability and the potential to identify channel morphology from sensor readings.
Shaokun He, Shenglian Guo, Chong-Yu Xu, Kebing Chen, Zhen Liao, Lele Deng, Huanhuan Ba, and Dimitri Solomatine
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-586, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-586, 2020
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
Aiming at cascade impoundment operation, we develop a classification-aggregation-decomposition method to overcome the
curse of dimensionalityand inflow stochasticity problem. It is tested with a mixed 30-reservoir system in China. The results show that our method can provide lots of schemes to refer to different flood event scenarios. The best scheme outperforms the conventional operating rule, as it increases impoundment efficiency and hydropower generation while flood control risk is less.
Jaroslav Obu, Sebastian Westermann, Gonçalo Vieira, Andrey Abramov, Megan Ruby Balks, Annett Bartsch, Filip Hrbáček, Andreas Kääb, and Miguel Ramos
The Cryosphere, 14, 497–519, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-497-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-497-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Little is known about permafrost in the Antarctic outside of the few research stations. We used a simple equilibrium permafrost model to estimate permafrost temperatures in the whole Antarctic. The lowest permafrost temperature on Earth is −36 °C in the Queen Elizabeth Range in the Transantarctic Mountains. Temperatures are commonly between −23 and −18 °C in mountainous areas rising above the Antarctic Ice Sheet, between −14 and −8 °C in coastal areas, and up to 0 °C on the Antarctic Peninsula.
Rebecca Gugerli, Nadine Salzmann, Matthias Huss, and Darin Desilets
The Cryosphere, 13, 3413–3434, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3413-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3413-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The snow water equivalent (SWE) in high mountain regions is crucial for many applications. Yet its quantification remains difficult. We present autonomous daily SWE observations by a cosmic ray sensor (CRS) deployed on a Swiss glacier for two winter seasons. Combined with snow depth observations, we derive the daily bulk snow density. The validation with manual field observations and its measurement reliability show that the CRS is a promising device for high alpine cryospheric environments.
Bin Xiong, Lihua Xiong, Jun Xia, Chong-Yu Xu, Cong Jiang, and Tao Du
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4453–4470, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4453-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4453-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We develop a new indicator of reservoir effects, called the rainfall–reservoir composite index (RRCI). RRCI, coupled with the effects of static reservoir capacity and scheduling-related multivariate rainfall, has a better performance than the previous indicator in terms of explaining the variation in the downstream floods affected by reservoir operation. A covariate-based flood frequency analysis using RRCI can provide more reliable downstream flood risk estimation.
Andreas Kääb, Bas Altena, and Joseph Mascaro
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4233–4247, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4233-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4233-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Knowledge of water surface velocities in rivers is useful for understanding a wide range of processes and systems, but is difficult to measure over large reaches. Here, we present a novel method to exploit near-simultaneous imagery produced by the Planet cubesat constellation to track river ice floes and estimate water surface velocities. We demonstrate the method for a 60 km long reach of the Amur River and a 200 km long reach of the Yukon River.
Hui-Min Wang, Jie Chen, Chong-Yu Xu, Hua Chen, Shenglian Guo, Ping Xie, and Xiangquan Li
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4033–4050, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4033-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4033-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
When using large ensembles of global climate models in hydrological impact studies, there are pragmatic questions on whether it is necessary to weight climate models and how to weight them. We use eight methods to weight climate models straightforwardly, based on their performances in hydrological simulations, and investigate the influences of the assigned weights. This study concludes that using bias correction and equal weighting is likely viable and sufficient for hydrological impact studies.
Tian Lan, Kairong Lin, Xuezhi Tan, Chong-Yu Xu, and Xiaohong Chen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-301, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-301, 2019
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
A calibration scheme was developed for the dynamics of hydrological model parameters. Furthermore, a novel tool was designed to assess the reliability of the dynamized parameter set. The tool evaluates the convergence processes for global optimization algorithms using violin plots (ECP-VP). The results showed that the developed calibration scheme overcame the salient issues for poor model performance. Besides, the ECP-VP tool effectively assessed the reliability of the dynamic parameter set.
B. Altena, O. N. Haga, C. Nuth, and A. Kääb
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLII-2-W13, 1723–1727, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W13-1723-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W13-1723-2019, 2019
Daniel Falaschi, Andreas Kääb, Frank Paul, Takeo Tadono, Juan Antonio Rivera, and Luis Eduardo Lenzano
The Cryosphere, 13, 997–1004, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-997-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-997-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In March 2007, the Leñas Glacier in the Central Andes of Argentina collapsed and released an ice avalanche that travelled a distance of 2 km. We analysed aerial photos, satellite images and field evidence to investigate the evolution of the glacier from the 1950s through the present day. A clear potential trigger of the collapse could not be identified from available meteorological and seismic data, nor could a significant change in glacier geometry leading to glacier instability be detected.
Cong Jiang, Lihua Xiong, Lei Yan, Jianfan Dong, and Chong-Yu Xu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1683–1704, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1683-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1683-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present the methods addressing the multivariate hydrologic design applied to the engineering practice under nonstationary conditions. A dynamic C-vine copula allowing for both time-varying marginal distributions and a time-varying dependence structure is developed to capture the nonstationarities of multivariate flood distribution. Then, the multivariate hydrologic design under nonstationary conditions is estimated through specifying the design criterion by average annual reliability.
Lu Li, Mingxi Shen, Yukun Hou, Chong-Yu Xu, Arthur F. Lutz, Jie Chen, Sharad K. Jain, Jingjing Li, and Hua Chen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1483–1503, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1483-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1483-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The study used an integrated glacio-hydrological model for the hydrological projections of the Himalayan Beas basin under climate change. It is very likely that the upper Beas basin will get warmer and wetter in the future. This loss in glacier area will result in a reduction in glacier discharge, while the future changes in total discharge are uncertain. The uncertainty in future hydrological change is not only from GCMs, but also from the bias-correction methods and hydrological modeling.
Robert McNabb, Christopher Nuth, Andreas Kääb, and Luc Girod
The Cryosphere, 13, 895–910, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-895-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-895-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Estimating glacier changes involves measuring elevation changes, often using elevation models derived from satellites. Many elevation models have data gaps (voids), which affect estimates of glacier change. We compare 11 methods for interpolating voids, finding that some methods bias estimates of glacier change by up to 20 %, though most methods have a smaller effect. Some methods produce reliable results even with large void areas, suggesting that noisy elevation data are still useful.
Bas Altena, Ted Scambos, Mark Fahnestock, and Andreas Kääb
The Cryosphere, 13, 795–814, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-795-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-795-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Many glaciers in southern Alaska and the Yukon experience changes in flow speed, which occur in episodes or sporadically. These flow changes can be measured with satellites, but the resulting raw velocity products are messy. Thus in this study we developed an automatic method to produce a synthesized velocity product over a large glacier region of roughly 600 km by 200 km. Velocities are at a monthly resolution and at 300 m resolution, making all kinds of glacier dynamics observable.
Pan Hu, Qiang Zhang, Chong-Yu Xu, Shao Sun, and Jiayi Fang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-73, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-73, 2019
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
China is the country highly sensitive to flood disasters. Here we investigated flood disasters and relevant driving factors using meteorological disaster records s and also hourly rainfall data. We used the GeoDetector method to analyze potential driving factors behind flood disasters. We found increased rainstorm-induced flood disasters and increase in flood disaster frequency. Meanwhile, reduced flood-related death rates imply enhanced flood-mitigation infrastructure and facilities.
Nevil Quinn, Günter Blöschl, András Bárdossy, Attilio Castellarin, Martyn Clark, Christophe Cudennec, Demetris Koutsoyiannis, Upmanu Lall, Lubomir Lichner, Juraj Parajka, Christa D. Peters-Lidard, Graham Sander, Hubert Savenije, Keith Smettem, Harry Vereecken, Alberto Viglione, Patrick Willems, Andy Wood, Ross Woods, Chong-Yu Xu, and Erwin Zehe
Proc. IAHS, 380, 3–8, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-380-3-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-380-3-2018, 2018
Nevil Quinn, Günter Blöschl, András Bárdossy, Attilio Castellarin, Martyn Clark, Christophe Cudennec, Demetris Koutsoyiannis, Upmanu Lall, Lubomir Lichner, Juraj Parajka, Christa D. Peters-Lidard, Graham Sander, Hubert Savenije, Keith Smettem, Harry Vereecken, Alberto Viglione, Patrick Willems, Andy Wood, Ross Woods, Chong-Yu Xu, and Erwin Zehe
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5735–5739, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5735-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5735-2018, 2018
Luc Girod, Niels Ivar Nielsen, Frédérique Couderette, Christopher Nuth, and Andreas Kääb
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 7, 277–288, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-7-277-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-7-277-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Historical surveys performed through the use of aerial photography gave us the first maps of the Arctic. Nearly a century later, a renewed interest in studying the Arctic is rising from the need to understand and quantify climate change. It is therefore time to dig up the archives and extract the maximum of information from the images using the most modern methods. In this study, we show that the aerial survey of Svalbard in 1936–38 provides us with valuable data on the archipelago's glaciers.
Hong Li, Jan Erik Haugen, and Chong-Yu Xu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5097–5110, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5097-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5097-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Precipitation is a key in the water system and glacier fate in the Great Himalayas region. We examine four datasets of available types in the Western Himalayas and they show very large differences. The differences depend much on the data source and are particularly large in monsoon seasons and high-elevation areas. All the datasets show a trend to wetter summer and drier winter and this trend reveals a tendency towards a high-flow seasonality and an unfavorable condition for glaciers.
Adrien Gilbert, Silvan Leinss, Jeffrey Kargel, Andreas Kääb, Simon Gascoin, Gregory Leonard, Etienne Berthier, Alina Karki, and Tandong Yao
The Cryosphere, 12, 2883–2900, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2883-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2883-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
In Tibet, two glaciers suddenly collapsed in summer 2016 and produced two gigantic ice avalanches, killing nine people. This kind of phenomenon is extremely rare. By combining a detailed modelling study and high-resolution satellite observations, we show that the event was triggered by an increasing meltwater supply in the fine-grained material underneath the two glaciers. Contrary to what is often thought, this event is not linked to a change in the thermal condition at the glacier base.
Hui-Min Wang, Jie Chen, Alex J. Cannon, Chong-Yu Xu, and Hua Chen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3739–3759, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3739-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3739-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Facing a growing number of climate models, many selection methods were proposed to select subsets in the field of climate simulation, but the transferability of their performances to hydrological impacts remains doubtful. We investigate the transferability of climate simulation uncertainty to hydrological impacts using two selection methods, and conclude that envelope-based selection of about 10 climate simulations based on properly chosen climate variables is suggested for impact studies.
Martina Barandun, Matthias Huss, Ryskul Usubaliev, Erlan Azisov, Etienne Berthier, Andreas Kääb, Tobias Bolch, and Martin Hoelzle
The Cryosphere, 12, 1899–1919, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1899-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1899-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we used three independent methods (in situ measurements, comparison of digital elevation models and modelling) to reconstruct the mass change from 2000 to 2016 for three glaciers in the Tien Shan and Pamir. Snow lines observed on remote sensing images were used to improve conventional modelling by constraining a mass balance model. As a result, glacier mass changes for unmeasured years and glaciers can be better assessed. Substantial mass loss was confirmed for the three glaciers.
Chiyuki Narama, Mirlan Daiyrov, Murataly Duishonakunov, Takeo Tadono, Hayato Sato, Andreas Kääb, Jinro Ukita, and Kanatbek Abdrakhmatov
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 983–995, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-983-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-983-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Four large drainages from glacial lakes occurred during 2006–2014 in the western Teskey Range, Kyrgyzstan. These floods caused extensive damage, killing people and livestock, as well as destroying property and crops. Due to their subsurface outlet, we refer to these short-lived glacial lakes as being of the
tunnel-type, a type that drastically grows and drains over a few months.
Solveig H. Winsvold, Andreas Kääb, Christopher Nuth, Liss M. Andreassen, Ward J. J. van Pelt, and Thomas Schellenberger
The Cryosphere, 12, 867–890, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-867-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-867-2018, 2018
Bin Xiong, Lihua Xiong, Jie Chen, Chong-Yu Xu, and Lingqi Li
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1525–1542, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1525-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1525-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
In changing environments, extreme low-flow events are expected to increase. Frequency analysis of low-flow events considering the impacts of changing environments has attracted increasing attention. This study developed a frequency analysis framework by applying 11 indices to trace the main causes of the change in the annual extreme low-flow events of the Weihe River. We showed that the fluctuation in annual low-flow series was affected by climate, streamflow recession and irrigation area.
B. Altena, A. Mousivand, J. Mascaro, and A. Kääb
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLII-3-W3, 7–11, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-3-W3-7-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-3-W3-7-2017, 2017
Martin Hoelzle, Erlan Azisov, Martina Barandun, Matthias Huss, Daniel Farinotti, Abror Gafurov, Wilfried Hagg, Ruslan Kenzhebaev, Marlene Kronenberg, Horst Machguth, Alexandr Merkushkin, Bolot Moldobekov, Maxim Petrov, Tomas Saks, Nadine Salzmann, Tilo Schöne, Yuri Tarasov, Ryskul Usubaliev, Sergiy Vorogushyn, Andrey Yakovlev, and Michael Zemp
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 6, 397–418, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-6-397-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-6-397-2017, 2017
Diana Fuentes-Andino, Keith Beven, Sven Halldin, Chong-Yu Xu, José Eduardo Reynolds, and Giuliano Di Baldassarre
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3597–3618, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3597-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3597-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Reproduction of past floods requires information on discharge and flood extent, commonly unavailable or uncertain during extreme events. We explored the possibility of reproducing an extreme flood disaster using rainfall and post-event hydrometric information by combining a rainfall-runoff and hydraulic modelling tool within an uncertainty analysis framework. Considering the uncertainty in post–event data, it was possible to reasonably reproduce the extreme event.
Andreas Kääb, Bas Altena, and Joseph Mascaro
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 627–639, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-17-627-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-17-627-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We evaluate for the first time a new class of optical satellite images for measuring Earth surface displacements due to earthquakes – images from cubesats. The PlanetScope cubesats used in this study are 10 cm × 10 cm × 30 cm small and standardized satellites. Around 120 of these cubesats orbit around Earth and are about to provide daily 2–4 m resolution images of the entire land surface of the Earth.
Luc Girod, Christopher Nuth, Andreas Kääb, Bernd Etzelmüller, and Jack Kohler
The Cryosphere, 11, 827–840, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-827-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-827-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
While gathering data on a changing environment is often a costly and complicated endeavour, it is also the backbone of all research. What if one could measure elevation change by just strapping a camera and a hiking GPS under an helicopter or a small airplane used for transportation and gather data on the ground bellow the flight path? In this article, we present a way to do exactly that and show an example survey where it helped compute the volume of ice lost by a glacier in Svalbard.
Sharad K. Jain, Sanjay K. Jain, Neha Jain, and Chong-Yu Xu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2017-100, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2017-100, 2017
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Tazio Strozzi, Andreas Kääb, and Thomas Schellenberger
The Cryosphere, 11, 553–566, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-553-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-553-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The strong atmospheric warming observed since the 1990s in polar regions requires quantifying the contribution to sea level rise of glaciers and ice caps, but for large areas we do not have much information on ice dynamic fluctuations. The recent increase in satellite data opens up new possibilities to monitor ice flow. We observed over Stonebreen on Edgeøya (Svalbard) a strong increase since 2012 in ice surface velocity along with a decrease in volume and an advance in frontal extension.
Thomas Schellenberger, Thorben Dunse, Andreas Kääb, Thomas Vikhamar Schuler, Jon Ove Hagen, and Carleen H. Reijmer
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2017-5, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2017-5, 2017
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
Basin-3, NE-Svalbard, was still surging with 10 m d-1 in July 2016. After a speed peak of 18.8 m d-1 in Dec 2012/Jan 2013, speed-ups are overlying the fast flow every summer. The glacier is massively calving icebergs (5.2 Gt yr-1 ~ 2 L drinking water for every human being daily!) which in the same order of magnitude as all other Svalbard glaciers together.
Since autumn 2015 also Basin-2 is surging with maximum velocities of 8.7 m d-1, an advance of more than 2 km and a mass loss of 0.7 Gt yr-1.
Lingqi Li, Lihua Xiong, Chong-Yu Xu, Shenglian Guo, and Pan Liu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2016-619, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2016-619, 2016
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
The study offers insights into future design floods that are inferred with both AM and POT samplings under nonstationarity caused by changing climate. Future design floods in nonstationarity context are usually (lower than) but not necessarily more different from stationary estimates. AM-based projection is more sensitive to climate change than POT estimates. The over-dispersion in POT arrival rate leads to the invalidation of Poisson assumption that the misuse may induce overestimated floods.
Antoine Marmy, Jan Rajczak, Reynald Delaloye, Christin Hilbich, Martin Hoelzle, Sven Kotlarski, Christophe Lambiel, Jeannette Noetzli, Marcia Phillips, Nadine Salzmann, Benno Staub, and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 10, 2693–2719, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2693-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2693-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents a new semi-automated method to calibrate the 1-D soil model COUP. It is the first time (as far as we know) that this approach is developed for mountain permafrost. It is applied at six test sites in the Swiss Alps. In a second step, the calibrated model is used for RCM-based simulations with specific downscaling of RCM data to the borehole scale. We show projections of the permafrost evolution at the six sites until the end of the century and according to the A1B scenario.
Désirée Treichler and Andreas Kääb
The Cryosphere, 10, 2129–2146, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2129-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2129-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Satellite data are often the only source of information on mountain glaciers. We show that data from ICESat laser satellite can accurately reflect glacier volume development in 2003–2008, also for individual years. We detect a spatially varying elevation bias in commonly used data sets, and provide a correction that strongly increases the significance of the glacier change estimates – a crucial driver of climate-induced meltwater changes that directly affect the life of lowland populations.
T. Schellenberger, T. Dunse, A. Kääb, J. Kohler, and C. H. Reijmer
The Cryosphere, 9, 2339–2355, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-2339-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-2339-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Kronebreen and Kongsbreen are among the fastest flowing glaciers on Svalbard, and surface speeds reached up to 3.2m d-1 at Kronebreen in summer 2013 and 2.7m d-1 at Kongsbreen in late autumn 2012 as retrieved from SAR satellite data. Both glaciers retreated significantly during the observation period, Kongsbreen up to 1800m or 2.5km2 and Kronebreen up to 850m or 2.8km2. Both glaciers are important contributors to the total dynamic mass loss from the Svalbard archipelago.
J. E. Reynolds, S. Halldin, C. Y. Xu, J. Seibert, and A. Kauffeldt
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hessd-12-7437-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hessd-12-7437-2015, 2015
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
In this study it was found that time-scale dependencies of hydrological model parameters are a result of the numerical method used in the model rather than a real time-scale-data dependence. This study further indicates that as soon as sub-daily driving data can be secured, flood forecasting in watersheds with sub-daily concentration times is possible with model parameter values inferred from long time series of daily data, as long as an appropriate numerical method is used.
A. Kääb, D. Treichler, C. Nuth, and E. Berthier
The Cryosphere, 9, 557–564, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-557-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-557-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Based on satellite laser altimetry over the Pamir--Karakoram Himalaya we detect strongest elevation losses over east Nyainqentanglha Shan and Spiti--Lahaul but slight elevation gains over west Kunlun Shan rather than over Karakoram. The current sea-level contribution of Pamir--Karakoram Himalaya glaciers is about 10% of the total global contribution of glaciers outside the ice sheets. We also improve estimates of glacier imbalance contribution to river discharge in the Himalayas.
C. Huggel, A. Raissig, M. Rohrer, G. Romero, A. Diaz, and N. Salzmann
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 475–485, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-15-475-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-15-475-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Three different disaster databases are analyzed for detection of decadal spatiotemporal changes in the Andes of Peru. We find large variations in the disaster metrics depending on the database. We recommend that the type, method and source of documentation should be carefully evaluated for any analysis of disaster databases; reporting criteria should be improved and documentation efforts strengthened.
T. Dunse, T. Schellenberger, J. O. Hagen, A. Kääb, T. V. Schuler, and C. H. Reijmer
The Cryosphere, 9, 197–215, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-197-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-197-2015, 2015
H. Frey, H. Machguth, M. Huss, C. Huggel, S. Bajracharya, T. Bolch, A. Kulkarni, A. Linsbauer, N. Salzmann, and M. Stoffel
The Cryosphere, 8, 2313–2333, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2313-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2313-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
Existing methods (area–volume relations, a slope-dependent volume estimation method, and two ice-thickness distribution models) are used to estimate the ice reserves stored in Himalayan–Karakoram glaciers. Resulting volumes range from 2955–4737km³. Results from the ice-thickness distribution models agree well with local measurements; volume estimates from area-related relations exceed the estimates from the other approaches. Evidence on the effect of the selected method on results is provided.
A. Kääb, L. Girod, and I. Berthling
The Cryosphere, 8, 1041–1056, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1041-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1041-2014, 2014
A. Kääb, M. Lamare, and M. Abrams
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 4671–4683, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-4671-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-4671-2013, 2013
C. Nuth, J. Kohler, M. König, A. von Deschwanden, J. O. Hagen, A. Kääb, G. Moholdt, and R. Pettersson
The Cryosphere, 7, 1603–1621, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1603-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1603-2013, 2013
J. Gardelle, E. Berthier, Y. Arnaud, and A. Kääb
The Cryosphere, 7, 1263–1286, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1263-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1263-2013, 2013
A. Kauffeldt, S. Halldin, A. Rodhe, C.-Y. Xu, and I. K. Westerberg
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 2845–2857, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-2845-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-2845-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Discipline: Glaciers | Subject: Remote Sensing
The Pléiades Glacier Observatory: high-resolution digital elevation models and ortho-imagery to monitor glacier change
Monthly velocity and seasonal variations of the Mont Blanc glaciers derived from Sentinel-2 between 2016 and 2024
Improved records of glacier flow instabilities using customized NASA autoRIFT (CautoRIFT) applied to PlanetScope imagery
Five decades of Abramov glacier dynamics reconstructed with multi-sensor optical remote sensing
Observing glacier elevation changes from spaceborne optical and radar sensors – an inter-comparison experiment using ASTER and TanDEM-X data
Lake ice break-up in Greenland: timing and spatiotemporal variability
A low-cost and open-source approach for supraglacial debris thickness mapping using UAV-based infrared thermography
Refined glacial lake extraction in a high-Asia region by deep neural network and superpixel-based conditional random field methods
Annual to seasonal glacier mass balance in High Mountain Asia derived from Pléiades stereo images: examples from the Pamir and the Tibetan Plateau
Out-of-the-box calving-front detection method using deep learning
GLAcier Feature Tracking testkit (GLAFT): a statistically and physically based framework for evaluating glacier velocity products derived from optical satellite image feature tracking
Cast shadows reveal changes in glacier surface elevation
Characterizing the surge behaviour and associated ice-dammed lake evolution of the Kyagar Glacier in the Karakoram
Constraining regional glacier reconstructions using past ice thickness of deglaciating areas – a case study in the European Alps
Climatic control on seasonal variations in mountain glacier surface velocity
High-resolution debris-cover mapping using UAV-derived thermal imagery: limits and opportunities
Automated ArcticDEM iceberg detection tool: insights into area and volume distributions, and their potential application to satellite imagery and modelling of glacier–iceberg–ocean systems
Glacier extraction based on high-spatial-resolution remote-sensing images using a deep-learning approach with attention mechanism
TermPicks: a century of Greenland glacier terminus data for use in scientific and machine learning applications
Surge dynamics of Shisper Glacier revealed by time-series correlation of optical satellite images and their utility to substantiate a generalized sliding law
Offset of MODIS land surface temperatures from in situ air temperatures in the upper Kaskawulsh Glacier region (St. Elias Mountains) indicates near-surface temperature inversions
Three different glacier surges at a spot: what satellites observe and what not
Correlation dispersion as a measure to better estimate uncertainty in remotely sensed glacier displacements
Glacier and rock glacier changes since the 1950s in the La Laguna catchment, Chile
Brief communication: Increased glacier mass loss in the Russian High Arctic (2010–2017)
Contrasting surface velocities between lake- and land-terminating glaciers in the Himalayan region
Aerodynamic roughness length of crevassed tidewater glaciers from UAV mapping
Image classification of marine-terminating outlet glaciers in Greenland using deep learning methods
Brief communication: Detection of glacier surge activity using cloud computing of Sentinel-1 radar data
InSAR-based characterization of rock glacier movement in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA
Surface composition of debris-covered glaciers across the Himalaya using linear spectral unmixing of Landsat 8 OLI imagery
Mapping seasonal glacier melt across the Hindu Kush Himalaya with time series synthetic aperture radar (SAR)
Estimating surface mass balance patterns from unoccupied aerial vehicle measurements in the ablation area of the Morteratsch–Pers glacier complex (Switzerland)
High-resolution topography of the Antarctic Peninsula combining the TanDEM-X DEM and Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) mosaic
Measuring the state and temporal evolution of glaciers in Alaska and Yukon using synthetic-aperture-radar-derived (SAR-derived) 3D time series of glacier surface flow
Tracking changes in the area, thickness, and volume of the Thwaites tabular iceberg “B30” using satellite altimetry and imagery
Analyzing glacier retreat and mass balances using aerial and UAV photogrammetry in the Ötztal Alps, Austria
Surges of Harald Moltke Bræ, north-western Greenland: seasonal modulation and initiation at the terminus
Brief communication: An empirical relation between center frequency and measured thickness for radar sounding of temperate glaciers
Glacier Image Velocimetry: an open-source toolbox for easy and rapid calculation of high-resolution glacier velocity fields
Calving Front Machine (CALFIN): glacial termini dataset and automated deep learning extraction method for Greenland, 1972–2019
Annual and inter-annual variability and trends of albedo of Icelandic glaciers
Observing traveling waves in glaciers with remote sensing: new flexible time series methods and application to Sermeq Kujalleq (Jakobshavn Isbræ), Greenland
Detecting seasonal ice dynamics in satellite images
Sharp contrasts in observed and modeled crevasse patterns at Greenland's marine terminating glaciers
Variability in glacier albedo and links to annual mass balance for the gardens of Eden and Allah, Southern Alps, New Zealand
The seasonal evolution of albedo across glaciers and the surrounding landscape of Taylor Valley, Antarctica
Multisensor validation of tidewater glacier flow fields derived from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) intensity tracking
Detecting dynamics of cave floor ice with selective cloud-to-cloud approach
Changes of the tropical glaciers throughout Peru between 2000 and 2016 – mass balance and area fluctuations
Etienne Berthier, Jérôme Lebreton, Delphine Fontannaz, Steven Hosford, Joaquín Muñoz-Cobo Belart, Fanny Brun, Liss M. Andreassen, Brian Menounos, and Charlotte Blondel
The Cryosphere, 18, 5551–5571, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5551-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5551-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Repeat elevation measurements are crucial for monitoring glacier health and to understand how glaciers affect river flows and sea level. Until recently, high-resolution elevation data were mostly available for polar regions and High Mountain Asia. Our project, the Pléiades Glacier Observatory, now provides high-resolution topographies of 140 glacier sites worldwide. This is a novel and open dataset to monitor the impact of climate change on glaciers at high resolution and accuracy.
Fabrizio Troilo, Niccolò Dematteis, Francesco Zucca, Martin Funk, and Daniele Giordan
The Cryosphere, 18, 3891–3909, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3891-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3891-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The study of glacier sliding along slopes is relevant in many aspects of glaciology. We processed Sentinel-2 satellite optical images of Mont Blanc, obtaining surface velocities of 30 glaciers between 2016 and 2024. The study revealed different behaviours and velocity variations that have relationships with glacier morphology. A velocity anomaly was observed in some glaciers of the southern side in 2020–2022, but its origin needs to be investigated further.
Jukes Liu, Madeline Gendreau, Ellyn Mary Enderlin, and Rainey Aberle
The Cryosphere, 18, 3571–3590, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3571-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3571-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
There are sometimes gaps in global glacier velocity records produced using satellite image feature-tracking algorithms during times of rapid glacier acceleration, which hinders the study of glacier flow processes. We present an open-source pipeline for customizing the feature-tracking parameters and for including images from an additional source. We applied it to five glaciers and found that it produced accurate velocity data that supplemented their velocity records during rapid acceleration.
Enrico Mattea, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Atanu Bhattacharya, Sajid Ghuffar, Martina Barandun, and Martin Hoelzle
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2169, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2169, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstruct the evolution of terminus position, ice thickness and surface flow velocity of the reference Abramov glacier (Kyrgyzstan) from 1968 to present. We describe a front pulsation in the early 2000s and the multi-annual present-day buildup of a new pulsation. Such dynamic instabilities can challenge the representativity of Abramov as reference glacier. For our work we used satellite‑based optical remote sensing from multiple platforms, including recently declassified archives.
Livia Piermattei, Michael Zemp, Christian Sommer, Fanny Brun, Matthias H. Braun, Liss M. Andreassen, Joaquín M. C. Belart, Etienne Berthier, Atanu Bhattacharya, Laura Boehm Vock, Tobias Bolch, Amaury Dehecq, Inés Dussaillant, Daniel Falaschi, Caitlyn Florentine, Dana Floricioiu, Christian Ginzler, Gregoire Guillet, Romain Hugonnet, Matthias Huss, Andreas Kääb, Owen King, Christoph Klug, Friedrich Knuth, Lukas Krieger, Jeff La Frenierre, Robert McNabb, Christopher McNeil, Rainer Prinz, Louis Sass, Thorsten Seehaus, David Shean, Désirée Treichler, Anja Wendt, and Ruitang Yang
The Cryosphere, 18, 3195–3230, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Satellites have made it possible to observe glacier elevation changes from all around the world. In the present study, we compared the results produced from two different types of satellite data between different research groups and against validation measurements from aeroplanes. We found a large spread between individual results but showed that the group ensemble can be used to reliably estimate glacier elevation changes and related errors from satellite data.
Christoph Posch, Jakob Abermann, and Tiago Silva
The Cryosphere, 18, 2035–2059, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2035-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2035-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Radar beams from satellites exhibit reflection differences between water and ice. This condition, as well as the comprehensive coverage and high temporal resolution of the Sentinel-1 satellites, allows automatically detecting the timing of when ice cover of lakes in Greenland disappear. We found that lake ice breaks up 3 d later per 100 m elevation gain and that the average break-up timing varies by ±8 d in 2017–2021, which has major implications for the energy budget of the lakes.
Jérôme Messmer and Alexander Raphael Groos
The Cryosphere, 18, 719–746, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-719-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-719-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The lower part of mountain glaciers is often covered with debris. Knowing the thickness of the debris is important as it influences the melting and future evolution of the affected glaciers. We have developed an open-source approach to map variations in debris thickness on glaciers using a low-cost drone equipped with a thermal infrared camera. The resulting high-resolution maps of debris surface temperature and thickness enable more accurate monitoring and modelling of debris-covered glaciers.
Yungang Cao, Rumeng Pan, Meng Pan, Ruodan Lei, Puying Du, and Xueqin Bai
The Cryosphere, 18, 153–168, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-153-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-153-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study built a glacial lake dataset with 15376 samples in seven types and proposed an automatic method by two-stage (the semantic segmentation network and post-processing) optimizations to detect glacial lakes. The proposed method for glacial lake extraction has achieved the best results so far, in which the F1 score and IoU reached 0.945 and 0.907, respectively. The area of the minimum glacial lake that can be entirely and correctly extracted has been raised to the 100 m2 level.
Daniel Falaschi, Atanu Bhattacharya, Gregoire Guillet, Lei Huang, Owen King, Kriti Mukherjee, Philipp Rastner, Tandong Yao, and Tobias Bolch
The Cryosphere, 17, 5435–5458, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5435-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5435-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Because glaciers are crucial freshwater sources in the lowlands surrounding High Mountain Asia, constraining short-term glacier mass changes is essential. We investigate the potential of state-of-the-art satellite elevation data to measure glacier mass changes in two selected regions. The results demonstrate the ability of our dataset to characterize glacier changes of different magnitudes, allowing for an increase in the number of inaccessible glaciers that can be readily monitored.
Oskar Herrmann, Nora Gourmelon, Thorsten Seehaus, Andreas Maier, Johannes J. Fürst, Matthias H. Braun, and Vincent Christlein
The Cryosphere, 17, 4957–4977, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4957-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4957-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Delineating calving fronts of marine-terminating glaciers in satellite images is a labour-intensive task. We propose a method based on deep learning that automates this task. We choose a deep learning framework that adapts to any given dataset without needing deep learning expertise. The method is evaluated on a benchmark dataset for calving-front detection and glacier zone segmentation. The framework can beat the benchmark baseline without major modifications.
Whyjay Zheng, Shashank Bhushan, Maximillian Van Wyk De Vries, William Kochtitzky, David Shean, Luke Copland, Christine Dow, Renette Jones-Ivey, and Fernando Pérez
The Cryosphere, 17, 4063–4078, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4063-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4063-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We design and propose a method that can evaluate the quality of glacier velocity maps. The method includes two numbers that we can calculate for each velocity map. Based on statistics and ice flow physics, velocity maps with numbers close to the recommended values are considered to have good quality. We test the method using the data from Kaskawulsh Glacier, Canada, and release an open-sourced software tool called GLAcier Feature Tracking testkit (GLAFT) to help users assess their velocity maps.
Monika Pfau, Georg Veh, and Wolfgang Schwanghart
The Cryosphere, 17, 3535–3551, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3535-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3535-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Cast shadows have been a recurring problem in remote sensing of glaciers. We show that the length of shadows from surrounding mountains can be used to detect gains or losses in glacier elevation.
Guanyu Li, Mingyang Lv, Duncan J. Quincey, Liam S. Taylor, Xinwu Li, Shiyong Yan, Yidan Sun, and Huadong Guo
The Cryosphere, 17, 2891–2907, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2891-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2891-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Kyagar Glacier in the Karakoram is well known for its surge history and its frequent blocking of the downstream valley, leading to a series of high-magnitude glacial lake outburst floods. Using it as a test bed, we develop a new approach for quantifying surge behaviour using successive digital elevation models. This method could be applied to other surge studies. Combined with the results from optical satellite images, we also reconstruct the surge process in unprecedented detail.
Christian Sommer, Johannes J. Fürst, Matthias Huss, and Matthias H. Braun
The Cryosphere, 17, 2285–2303, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2285-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2285-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Knowledge on the volume of glaciers is important to project future runoff. Here, we present a novel approach to reconstruct the regional ice thickness distribution from easily available remote-sensing data. We show that past ice thickness, derived from spaceborne glacier area and elevation datasets, can constrain the estimated ice thickness. Based on the unique glaciological database of the European Alps, the approach will be most beneficial in regions without direct thickness measurements.
Ugo Nanni, Dirk Scherler, Francois Ayoub, Romain Millan, Frederic Herman, and Jean-Philippe Avouac
The Cryosphere, 17, 1567–1583, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1567-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1567-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Surface melt is a major factor driving glacier movement. Using satellite images, we have tracked the movements of 38 glaciers in the Pamirs over 7 years, capturing their responses to rapid meteorological changes with unprecedented resolution. We show that in spring, glacier accelerations propagate upglacier, while in autumn, they propagate downglacier – all resulting from changes in meltwater input. This provides critical insights into the interplay between surface melt and glacier movement.
Deniz Tobias Gök, Dirk Scherler, and Leif Stefan Anderson
The Cryosphere, 17, 1165–1184, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1165-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1165-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We performed high-resolution debris-thickness mapping using land surface temperature (LST) measured from an unpiloted aerial vehicle (UAV) at various times of the day. LSTs from UAVs require calibration that varies in time. We test two approaches to quantify supraglacial debris cover, and we find that the non-linearity of the relationship between LST and debris thickness increases with LST. Choosing the best model to predict debris thickness depends on the time of the day and the terrain aspect.
Connor J. Shiggins, James M. Lea, and Stephen Brough
The Cryosphere, 17, 15–32, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-15-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-15-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Iceberg detection is spatially and temporally limited around the Greenland Ice Sheet. This study presents a new, accessible workflow to automatically detect icebergs from timestamped ArcticDEM strip data. The workflow successfully produces comparable output to manual digitisation, with results revealing new iceberg area-to-volume conversion equations that can be widely applied to datasets where only iceberg outlines can be extracted (e.g. optical and SAR imagery).
Xinde Chu, Xiaojun Yao, Hongyu Duan, Cong Chen, Jing Li, and Wenlong Pang
The Cryosphere, 16, 4273–4289, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4273-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4273-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The available remote-sensing data are increasingly abundant, and the efficient and rapid acquisition of glacier boundaries based on these data is currently a frontier issue in glacier research. In this study, we designed a complete solution to automatically extract glacier outlines from the high-resolution images. Compared with other methods, our method achieves the best performance for glacier boundary extraction in parts of the Tanggula Mountains, Kunlun Mountains and Qilian Mountains.
Sophie Goliber, Taryn Black, Ginny Catania, James M. Lea, Helene Olsen, Daniel Cheng, Suzanne Bevan, Anders Bjørk, Charlie Bunce, Stephen Brough, J. Rachel Carr, Tom Cowton, Alex Gardner, Dominik Fahrner, Emily Hill, Ian Joughin, Niels J. Korsgaard, Adrian Luckman, Twila Moon, Tavi Murray, Andrew Sole, Michael Wood, and Enze Zhang
The Cryosphere, 16, 3215–3233, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3215-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3215-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Terminus traces have been used to understand how Greenland's glaciers have changed over time; however, manual digitization is time-intensive, and a lack of coordination leads to duplication of efforts. We have compiled a dataset of over 39 000 terminus traces for 278 glaciers for scientific and machine learning applications. We also provide an overview of an updated version of the Google Earth Engine Digitization Tool (GEEDiT), which has been developed specifically for the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Flavien Beaud, Saif Aati, Ian Delaney, Surendra Adhikari, and Jean-Philippe Avouac
The Cryosphere, 16, 3123–3148, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3123-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3123-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding sliding at the bed of glaciers is essential to understand the future of sea-level rise and glacier-related hazards. Yet there is currently no universal law to describe this mechanism. We propose a universal glacier sliding law and a method to qualitatively constrain it. We use satellite remote sensing to create velocity maps over 6 years at Shisper Glacier, Pakistan, including its recent surge, and show that the observations corroborate the generalized theory.
Ingalise Kindstedt, Kristin M. Schild, Dominic Winski, Karl Kreutz, Luke Copland, Seth Campbell, and Erin McConnell
The Cryosphere, 16, 3051–3070, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3051-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3051-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We show that neither the large spatial footprint of the MODIS sensor nor poorly constrained snow emissivity values explain the observed cold offset in MODIS land surface temperatures (LSTs) in the St. Elias. Instead, the offset is most prominent under conditions associated with near-surface temperature inversions. This work represents an advance in the application of MODIS LSTs to glaciated alpine regions, where we often depend solely on remote sensing products for temperature information.
Frank Paul, Livia Piermattei, Désirée Treichler, Lin Gilbert, Luc Girod, Andreas Kääb, Ludivine Libert, Thomas Nagler, Tazio Strozzi, and Jan Wuite
The Cryosphere, 16, 2505–2526, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2505-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2505-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Glacier surges are widespread in the Karakoram and have been intensely studied using satellite data and DEMs. We use time series of such datasets to study three glacier surges in the same region of the Karakoram. We found strongly contrasting advance rates and flow velocities, maximum velocities of 30 m d−1, and a change in the surge mechanism during a surge. A sensor comparison revealed good agreement, but steep terrain and the two smaller glaciers caused limitations for some of them.
Bas Altena, Andreas Kääb, and Bert Wouters
The Cryosphere, 16, 2285–2300, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2285-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2285-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Repeat overflights of satellites are used to estimate surface displacements. However, such products lack a simple error description for individual measurements, but variation in precision occurs, since the calculation is based on the similarity of texture. Fortunately, variation in precision manifests itself in the correlation peak, which is used for the displacement calculation. This spread is used to make a connection to measurement precision, which can be of great use for model inversion.
Benjamin Aubrey Robson, Shelley MacDonell, Álvaro Ayala, Tobias Bolch, Pål Ringkjøb Nielsen, and Sebastián Vivero
The Cryosphere, 16, 647–665, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-647-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-647-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This work uses satellite and aerial data to study glaciers and rock glacier changes in La Laguna catchment within the semi-arid Andes of Chile, where ice melt is an important factor in river flow. The results show the rate of ice loss of Tapado Glacier has been increasing since the 1950s, which possibly relates to a dryer, warmer climate over the previous decades. Several rock glaciers show high surface velocities and elevation changes between 2012 and 2020, indicating they may be ice-rich.
Christian Sommer, Thorsten Seehaus, Andrey Glazovsky, and Matthias H. Braun
The Cryosphere, 16, 35–42, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-35-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-35-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Arctic glaciers have been subject to extensive warming due to global climate change, yet their contribution to sea level rise has been relatively small in the past. In this study we provide mass changes of most glaciers of the Russian High Arctic (Franz Josef Land, Severnaya Zemlya, Novaya Zemlya). We use TanDEM-X satellite measurements to derive glacier surface elevation changes. Our results show an increase in glacier mass loss and a sea level rise contribution of 0.06 mm/a (2010–2017).
Jan Bouke Pronk, Tobias Bolch, Owen King, Bert Wouters, and Douglas I. Benn
The Cryosphere, 15, 5577–5599, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5577-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5577-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
About 10 % of Himalayan glaciers flow directly into lakes. This study finds, using satellite imagery, that such glaciers show higher flow velocities than glaciers without ice–lake contact. In particular near the glacier tongue the impact of a lake on the glacier flow can be dramatic. The development of current and new meltwater bodies will influence the flow of an increasing number of Himalayan glaciers in the future, a scenario not currently considered in regional ice loss projections.
Armin Dachauer, Richard Hann, and Andrew J. Hodson
The Cryosphere, 15, 5513–5528, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5513-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5513-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigated the aerodynamic roughness length (z0) – an important parameter to determine the surface roughness – of crevassed tidewater glaciers on Svalbard using drone data. The results point out that the range of z0 values across a crevassed glacier is large but in general significantly higher compared to non-crevassed glacier surfaces. The UAV approach proved to be an ideal tool to provide distributed z0 estimates of crevassed glaciers which can be used to model turbulent fluxes.
Melanie Marochov, Chris R. Stokes, and Patrice E. Carbonneau
The Cryosphere, 15, 5041–5059, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5041-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5041-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Research into the use of deep learning for pixel-level classification of landscapes containing marine-terminating glaciers is lacking. We adapt a novel and transferable deep learning workflow to classify satellite imagery containing marine-terminating outlet glaciers in Greenland. Our workflow achieves high accuracy and mimics human visual performance, potentially providing a useful tool to monitor glacier change and further understand the impacts of climate change in complex glacial settings.
Paul Willem Leclercq, Andreas Kääb, and Bas Altena
The Cryosphere, 15, 4901–4907, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4901-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4901-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study we present a novel method to detect glacier surge activity. Surges are relevant as they disturb the link between glacier change and climate, and studying surges can also increase understanding of glacier flow. We use variations in Sentinel-1 radar backscatter strength, calculated with the use of Google Earth Engine, to detect surge activity. In our case study for the year 2018–2019 we find 69 cases of surging glaciers globally. Many of these were not previously known to be surging.
George Brencher, Alexander L. Handwerger, and Jeffrey S. Munroe
The Cryosphere, 15, 4823–4844, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4823-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4823-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We use satellite InSAR to inventory and monitor rock glaciers, frozen bodies of ice and rock debris that are an important water resource in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA. Our inventory contains 205 rock glaciers, which occur within a narrow elevation band and deform at 1.94 cm yr-1 on average. Uinta rock glacier movement changes seasonally and appears to be driven by spring snowmelt. The role of rock glaciers as a perennial water resource is threatened by ice loss due to climate change.
Adina E. Racoviteanu, Lindsey Nicholson, and Neil F. Glasser
The Cryosphere, 15, 4557–4588, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4557-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4557-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Supraglacial debris cover comprises ponds, exposed ice cliffs, debris material and vegetation. Understanding these features is important for glacier hydrology and related hazards. We use linear spectral unmixing of satellite data to assess the composition of map supraglacial debris across the Himalaya range in 2015. One of the highlights of this study is the automated mapping of supraglacial ponds, which complements and expands the existing supraglacial debris and lake databases.
Corey Scher, Nicholas C. Steiner, and Kyle C. McDonald
The Cryosphere, 15, 4465–4482, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4465-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4465-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Time series synthetic aperture radar enables detection of seasonal reach-scale glacier surface melting across continents, a key component of surface energy balance for mountain glaciers. We observe melting across all areas of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) cryosphere. Surface melting for the HKH lasts for close to 5 months per year on average and for just below 2 months at elevations exceeding 7000 m a.s.l. Further, there are indications that melting is more than superficial at high elevations.
Lander Van Tricht, Philippe Huybrechts, Jonas Van Breedam, Alexander Vanhulle, Kristof Van Oost, and Harry Zekollari
The Cryosphere, 15, 4445–4464, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4445-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4445-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We conducted innovative research on the use of drones to determine the surface mass balance (SMB) of two glaciers. Considering appropriate spatial scales, we succeeded in determining the SMB in the ablation area with large accuracy. Consequently, we are convinced that our method and the use of drones to monitor the mass balance of a glacier’s ablation area can be an add-on to stake measurements in order to obtain a broader picture of the heterogeneity of the SMB of glaciers.
Yuting Dong, Ji Zhao, Dana Floricioiu, Lukas Krieger, Thomas Fritz, and Michael Eineder
The Cryosphere, 15, 4421–4443, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4421-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4421-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We generated a consistent, gapless and high-resolution (12 m) topography product of the Antarctic Peninsula by combining the complementary advantages of the two most recent high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) products: the TanDEM-X DEM and the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica. The generated DEM maintains the characteristics of the TanDEM-X DEM, has a better quality due to the correction of the residual height errors in the non-edited TanDEM-X DEM and will be freely available.
Sergey Samsonov, Kristy Tiampo, and Ryan Cassotto
The Cryosphere, 15, 4221–4239, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4221-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4221-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The direction and intensity of glacier surface flow adjust in response to a warming climate, causing sea level rise, seasonal flooding and droughts, and changing landscapes and habitats. We developed a technique that measures the evolution of surface flow for a glaciated region in three dimensions with high temporal and spatial resolution and used it to map the temporal evolution of glaciers in southeastern Alaska (Agassiz, Seward, Malaspina, Klutlan, Walsh, and Kluane) during 2016–2021.
Anne Braakmann-Folgmann, Andrew Shepherd, and Andy Ridout
The Cryosphere, 15, 3861–3876, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3861-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3861-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the disintegration of the B30 iceberg using satellite remote sensing and find that the iceberg lost 378 km3 of ice in 6.5 years, corresponding to 80 % of its initial volume. About two thirds are due to fragmentation at the sides, and one third is due to melting at the iceberg’s base. The release of fresh water and nutrients impacts ocean circulation, sea ice formation, and biological production. We show that adding a snow layer is important when deriving iceberg thickness.
Joschka Geissler, Christoph Mayer, Juilson Jubanski, Ulrich Münzer, and Florian Siegert
The Cryosphere, 15, 3699–3717, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3699-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3699-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The study demonstrates the potential of photogrammetry for analyzing glacier retreat with high spatial resolution. Twenty-three glaciers within the Ötztal Alps are analyzed. We compare photogrammetric and glaciologic mass balances of the Vernagtferner by using the ELA for our density assumption and an UAV survey for a temporal correction of the geodetic mass balances. The results reveal regions of anomalous mass balance and allow estimates of the imbalance between mass balances and ice dynamics.
Lukas Müller, Martin Horwath, Mirko Scheinert, Christoph Mayer, Benjamin Ebermann, Dana Floricioiu, Lukas Krieger, Ralf Rosenau, and Saurabh Vijay
The Cryosphere, 15, 3355–3375, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3355-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3355-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Harald Moltke Bræ, a marine-terminating glacier in north-western Greenland, undergoes remarkable surges of episodic character. Our data show that a recent surge from 2013 to 2019 was initiated at the glacier front and exhibits a pronounced seasonality with flow velocities varying by 1 order of magnitude, which has not been observed at Harald Moltke Bræ in this way before. These findings are crucial for understanding surge mechanisms at Harald Moltke Bræ and other marine-terminating glaciers.
Joseph A. MacGregor, Michael Studinger, Emily Arnold, Carlton J. Leuschen, Fernando Rodríguez-Morales, and John D. Paden
The Cryosphere, 15, 2569–2574, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2569-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2569-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We combine multiple recent global glacier datasets and extend one of them (GlaThiDa) to evaluate past performance of radar-sounding surveys of the thickness of Earth's temperate glaciers. An empirical envelope for radar performance as a function of center frequency is determined, its limitations are discussed and its relevance to future radar-sounder survey and system designs is considered.
Maximillian Van Wyk de Vries and Andrew D. Wickert
The Cryosphere, 15, 2115–2132, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2115-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2115-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We can measure glacier flow and sliding velocity by tracking patterns on the ice surface in satellite images. The surface velocity of glaciers provides important information to support assessments of glacier response to climate change, to improve regional assessments of ice thickness, and to assist with glacier fieldwork. Our paper describes Glacier Image Velocimetry (GIV), a new, easy-to-use, and open-source toolbox for calculating high-resolution velocity time series for any glacier on earth.
Daniel Cheng, Wayne Hayes, Eric Larour, Yara Mohajerani, Michael Wood, Isabella Velicogna, and Eric Rignot
The Cryosphere, 15, 1663–1675, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1663-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1663-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Tracking changes in Greenland's glaciers is important for understanding Earth's climate, but it is time consuming to do so by hand. We train a program, called CALFIN, to automatically track these changes with human levels of accuracy. CALFIN is a special type of program called a neural network. This method can be applied to other glaciers and eventually other tracking tasks. This will enhance our understanding of the Greenland Ice Sheet and permit better models of Earth's climate.
Andri Gunnarsson, Sigurdur M. Gardarsson, Finnur Pálsson, Tómas Jóhannesson, and Óli G. B. Sveinsson
The Cryosphere, 15, 547–570, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-547-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-547-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Surface albedo quantifies the fraction of the sunlight reflected by the surface of the Earth. During the melt season in the Northern Hemisphere solar energy absorbed by snow- and ice-covered surfaces is mainly controlled by surface albedo. For Icelandic glaciers, air temperature and surface albedo are the dominating factors governing annual variability of glacier surface melt. Satellite data from the MODIS sensor are used to create a data set spanning the glacier melt season.
Bryan Riel, Brent Minchew, and Ian Joughin
The Cryosphere, 15, 407–429, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-407-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-407-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The availability of large volumes of publicly available remote sensing data over terrestrial glaciers provides new opportunities for studying the response of glaciers to a changing climate. We present an efficient method for tracking changes in glacier speeds at high spatial and temporal resolutions from surface observations, demonstrating the recovery of traveling waves over Jakobshavn Isbræ, Greenland. Quantification of wave properties may ultimately enhance understanding of glacier dynamics.
Chad A. Greene, Alex S. Gardner, and Lauren C. Andrews
The Cryosphere, 14, 4365–4378, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4365-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4365-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Seasonal variability is a fundamental characteristic of any Earth surface system, but we do not fully understand which of the world's glaciers speed up and slow down on an annual cycle. Such short-timescale accelerations may offer clues about how individual glaciers will respond to longer-term changes in climate, but understanding any behavior requires an ability to observe it. We describe how to use satellite image feature tracking to determine the magnitude and timing of seasonal ice dynamics.
Ellyn M. Enderlin and Timothy C. Bartholomaus
The Cryosphere, 14, 4121–4133, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4121-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4121-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Accurate predictions of future changes in glacier flow require the realistic simulation of glacier terminus position change in numerical models. We use crevasse observations for 19 Greenland glaciers to explore whether the two commonly used crevasse depth models match observations. The models cannot reproduce spatial patterns, and we largely attribute discrepancies between modeled and observed depths to the models' inability to account for advection.
Angus J. Dowson, Pascal Sirguey, and Nicolas J. Cullen
The Cryosphere, 14, 3425–3448, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3425-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3425-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Satellite observations over 19 years are used to characterise the spatial and temporal variability of surface albedo across the gardens of Eden and Allah, two of New Zealand’s largest ice fields. The variability in response of individual glaciers reveals the role of topographic setting and suggests that glaciers in the Southern Alps do not behave as a single climatic unit. There is evidence that the timing of the minimum surface albedo has shifted to later in the summer on 10 of the 12 glaciers.
Anna Bergstrom, Michael N. Gooseff, Madeline Myers, Peter T. Doran, and Julian M. Cross
The Cryosphere, 14, 769–788, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-769-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-769-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study sought to understand patterns of reflectance of visible light across the landscape of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. We used a helicopter-based platform to measure reflectance along an entire valley with a particular focus on the glaciers, as reflectance strongly controls glacier melt and available water to the downstream ecosystem. We found that patterns are controlled by gradients in snowfall, wind redistribution, and landscape structure, which can trap snow and sediment.
Christoph Rohner, David Small, Jan Beutel, Daniel Henke, Martin P. Lüthi, and Andreas Vieli
The Cryosphere, 13, 2953–2975, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2953-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2953-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The recent increase in ice flow and calving rates of ocean–terminating glaciers contributes substantially to the mass loss of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Using in situ reference observations, we validate the satellite–based method of iterative offset tracking of Sentinel–1A data for deriving flow speeds. Our investigations highlight the importance of spatial resolution near the fast–flowing calving front, resulting in significantly higher ice velocities compared to large–scale operational products.
Jozef Šupinský, Ján Kaňuk, Zdenko Hochmuth, and Michal Gallay
The Cryosphere, 13, 2835–2851, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2835-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2835-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Cave ice formations can be considered an indicator of long-term changes in the landscape. Using terrestrial laser scanning we generated a time series database of a 3-D cave model. We present a novel approach toward registration of scan missions into a unified coordinate system and methodology for detection of cave floor ice changes. We demonstrate the results of the ice dynamics monitoring correlated with meteorological observations in the Silická ľadnica cave situated in the Slovak Karst.
Thorsten Seehaus, Philipp Malz, Christian Sommer, Stefan Lippl, Alejo Cochachin, and Matthias Braun
The Cryosphere, 13, 2537–2556, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2537-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2537-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The glaciers in Peru are strongly affected by climate change and have shown significant ice loss in the last century. We present the first multi-temporal, countrywide quantification of glacier area and ice mass changes. A glacier area loss of −548.5 ± 65.7 km2 (−29 %) and ice mass loss of −7.62 ± 1.05 Gt is obtained for the period 2000–2016. The ice loss rate increased towards the end of the observation period. The glacier changes revealed can be attributed to regional climatic changes and ENSO.
Cited articles
Bao, W., Liu, S., Wei, J., and Guo, W.: Glacier changes during the past 40
years in the West Kunlun Shan, J. Mt. Sci., 12, 344–357,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-014-3220-0, 2015. a
Barandun, M., Huss, M., Usubaliev, R., Azisov, E., Berthier, E., Kääb, A., Bolch, T., and Hoelzle, M.: Multi-decadal mass balance series of three Kyrgyz glaciers inferred from modelling constrained with repeated snow line observations, The Cryosphere, 12, 1899–1919, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1899-2018, 2018. a
Baumann, S.: Estimating glacier mass changes by GRACE satellite gravimetry in
the Pamir and Tien-Shan mountains, Central Asia, in: 2012 IEEE International
Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 22–27 July, Munich, 4461–4464,
https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS.2012.6350481, 2012. a
Berthier, E., Cabot, V., Vincent, C., and Six, D.: Decadal region-wide and
glacier-wide mass balances derived from multi-temporal ASTER satellite
digital elevation models. Validation over the Mont-Blanc area, Front.
Earth Sci., 4, 63, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2016.00063, 2016. a
Böhner, J.: General climatic controls and topoclimatic variations in
Central and High Asia, Boreas, 35, 279–295,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2006.tb01158.x, 2006. a
Bookhagen, B. and Burbank, D. W.: Topography, relief, and TRMM-derived
rainfall variations along the Himalaya, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L08405,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL026037, 2006. a
Bookhagen, B. and Burbank, D. W.: Toward a complete Himalayan hydrological
budget: Spatiotemporal distribution of snowmelt and rainfall and their impact
on river discharge, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 115, F03019,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JF001426, 2010. a
Bothe, O., Fraedrich, K., and Zhu, X.: Precipitation climate of Central Asia
and the large-scale atmospheric circulation, Theor. Appl.
Climatol., 108, 345–354, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-011-0537-2, 2012. a
Chen, S., Gan, T. Y., Tan, X., Shao, D., and Zhu, J.: Assessment of CFSR,
ERA-Interim, JRA-55, MERRA-2, NCEP-2 reanalysis data for drought analysis
over China, Clim. Dynam., 53, 737–757, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-018-04611-1, 2019. a
Cogley, J. G.: Present and future states of Himalaya and Karakoram glaciers,
Ann. Glaciol., 52, 69–73, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756411799096277, 2011. a
Cogley, J. G.: Climate science: Himalayan glaciers in the balance, Nature,
488, 468–469, https://doi.org/10.1038/488468a, 2012. a
Dee, D. P., Uppala, S. M., Simmons, A. J., Berrisford, P., Poli, P., Kobayashi,
S., Andrae, U., Balmaseda, M. A., Balsamo, G., Bauer, P., Bechtold, P.,
Beljaars, A. C. M., van de Berg, L., Bidlot, J., Bormann, N., Delsol, C.,
Dragani, R., Fuentes, M., Geer, A. J., Haimberger, L., Healy, S. B.,
Hersbach, H., Hólm, E. V., Isaksen, L., Køallberg, P., Köhler, M.,
Matricardi, M., McNally, A. P., Monge-Sanz, B. M., Morcrette, J.-J., Park,
B.-K., Peubey, C., de Rosnay, P., Tavolato, C., Thépaut, J.-N., and
Vitart, F.: The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the
data assimilation system, Q. J. Roy. Meteor.
Soc., 137, 553–597, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.828, 2011. a, b
Dehecq, A., Gourmelen, N., Gardner, A. S., Brun, F., Goldberg, D., Nienow,
P. W., Berthier, E., Vincent, C., Wagnon, P., and Trouvé, E.: Twenty-first
century glacier slowdown driven by mass loss in High Mountain Asia, Nat.
Geosci., 12, 22–27,
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0271-9, 2019. a
de Kok, R. J., Tuinenburg, O. A., Bonekamp, P. N. J., and Immerzeel, W. W.:
Irrigation as a potential driver for anomalous glacier behavior in High
Mountain Asia, Geophys. Res. Lett., 45, 2047–2054,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL076158, 2018. a, b
Dobhal, D., Mehta, M., and Srivastava, D.: Influence of debris cover on
terminus retreat and mass changes of Chorabari Glacier, Garhwal region,
central Himalaya, India, J. Glaciol., 59, 961–971,
https://doi.org/10.3189/2013JoG12J180, 2013. a
Farr, T. G. and Kobrick, M.: Shuttle radar topography mission produces a wealth
of data, Eos, T. Am. Geophys. U., 81, 583–585,
https://doi.org/10.1029/EO081i048p00583, 2000. a, b, c
Farr, T. G., Rosen, P. A., Caro, E., Crippen, R., Duren, R., Hensley, S.,
Kobrick, M., Paller, M., Rodriguez, E., Roth, L., Seal, D., Shaffer, S.,
Shimada, J., Umland, J., Werner, M., Oskin, M., Burbank, D., and Alsdorf, D.:
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, Rev. Geophys., 45, RG2004,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2005RG000183, 2007. a, b
Forsythe, N., Fowler, H. J., Li, X.-F., Blenkinsop, S., and Pritchard, D.:
Karakoram temperature and glacial melt driven by regional atmospheric
circulation variability, Nature Clim. Change, 7, 664–670,
https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3361, 2017. a, b
Fujita, K.: Effect of precipitation seasonality on climatic sensitivity of
glacier mass balance, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 276, 14–19,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2008.08.028, 2008. a, b
Gardelle, J., Berthier, E., and Arnaud, Y.: Impact of resolution and radar
penetration on glacier elevation changes computed from DEM differencing,
J. Glaciol., 58, 419–422, https://doi.org/10.3189/2012JoG11J175,
2012a. a, b
Gardelle, J., Berthier, E., and Arnaud, Y.: Slight mass gain of Karakoram
glaciers in the early twenty-first century, Nat. Geosci., 5, 322–325,
https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1450, 2012b. a, b, c
Gardner, A. S., Moholdt, G., Cogley, J. G., Wouters, B., Arendt, A. A., Wahr,
J., Berthier, E., Hock, R., Pfeffer, W. T., Kaser, G., Ligtenberg, S. R. M.,
Bolch, T., Sharp, M. J., Hagen, J. O., van den Broeke, M. R., and Paul, F.: A
reconciled estimate of glacier contributions to sea level rise: 2003 to 2009,
Science, 340, 852–857, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1234532, 2013. a, b, c, d, e, f, g
Gelaro, R., McCarty, W., Suárez, M. J., Todling, R., Molod, A., Takacs, L.,
Randles, C. A., Darmenov, A., Bosilovich, M. G., Reichle, R., Wargan, K.,
Coy, L., Cullather, R., Draper, C., Akella, S., Buchard, V., Conaty, A.,
da Silva, A. M., Gu, W., Kim, G.-K., Koster, R., Lucchesi, R., Merkova, D.,
Nielsen, J. E., Partyka, G., Pawson, S., Putman, W., Rienecker, M., Schubert,
S. D., Sienkiewicz, M., and Zhao, B.: The Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis
for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2), J. Climate, 30,
5419–5454, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0758.1, 2017. a, b
Gilbert, A., Leinss, S., Kargel, J., Kääb, A., Gascoin, S., Leonard, G., Berthier, E., Karki, A., and Yao, T.: Mechanisms leading to the 2016 giant twin glacier collapses, Aru Range, Tibet, The Cryosphere, 12, 2883–2900, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2883-2018, 2018. a
Girod, L., Nuth, C., Kääb, A., Etzelmüller, B., and Kohler, J.: Terrain changes from images acquired on opportunistic flights by SfM photogrammetry, The Cryosphere, 11, 827–840, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-827-2017, 2017. a
GMAO: tavgM_2d_flx_Nx: MERRA 2D IAU Diagnostic Surface Fluxes, Monthly Mean
V5.2.0. Accessed: Dec 1, 2016, Dataset, Goddard Space Flight Center
Distributed Active Archive Center (GSFC DAAC), https://doi.org/10.5067/0JRLVL8YV2Y4,
2016. a
Gorelick, N., Hancher, M., Dixon, M., Ilyushchenko, S., Thau, D., and Moore,
R.: Google Earth Engine: Planetary-scale geospatial analysis for everyone,
Remote Sens. Environ., 202, 18–27, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2017.06.031, 2017. a
Guo, Y., Zhang, Y., Ma, N., Xu, J., and Zhang, T.: Long-term changes
in evaporation over Siling Co Lake on the Tibetan Plateau and its impact on
recent rapid lake expansion, Atmos. Res., 216, 141–150,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2018.10.006, 2019. a
Hewitt, K.: The Karakoram anomaly? Glacier expansion and the `elevation
effect', Karakoram Himalaya, Mt. Res. Develop., 25,
332–340, https://doi.org/10.1659/0276-4741(2005)025[0332:TKAGEA]2.0.CO;2, 2005. a
Immerzeel, W. W., Petersen, L., Ragettli, S., and Pellicciotti, F.: The
importance of observed gradients of air temperature and precipitation for
modeling runoff from a glacierized watershed in the Nepalese Himalayas,
Water Resour. Res., 50, 2212–2226, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013WR014506, 2014. a, b
Immerzeel, W. W., Wanders, N., Lutz, A. F., Shea, J. M., and Bierkens, M. F. P.: Reconciling high-altitude precipitation in the upper Indus basin with glacier mass balances and runoff, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 4673–4687, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-4673-2015, 2015. a
Jacob, T., Wahr, J., Pfeffer, W. T., and Swenson, S.: Recent contributions of
glaciers and ice caps to sea level rise, Nature, 482, 514–518,
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10847, 2012. a
Kääb, A., Leinss, S., Gilbert, A., Bühler, Y., Gascoin, S., Evans, S. G.,
Bartelt, P., Berthier, E., Brun, F., Chao, W.-A., Farinotti, D., Gimbert, F.,
Guo, W., Huggel, C., Kargel, J. S., Leonard, G. J., Tian, L., Treichler, D.,
and Yao, T.: Massive collapse of two glaciers in western Tibet in 2016 after
surge-like instability, Nat. Geosci., 11, 114–120,
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-017-0039-7, 2018. a, b, c
Kang, S., Chen, F., Gao, T., Zhang, Y., Yang, W., Yu, W., and Yao, T.:
Correspondence: Early onset of rainy season suppresses glacier melt: a case
study on Zhadang glacier, Tibetan Plateau, J. Glaciol., 55,
755–758, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214309789470978, 2009. a
Kang, S., Xu, Y., You, Q., Flügel, W.-A., Pepin, N., and Yao, T.: Review of
climate and cryospheric change in the Tibetan Plateau, Environ. Res.
Lett., 5, 015101, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/5/1/015101, 2010. a, b
Kapnick, S. B., Delworth, T. L., Ashfaq, M., Malyshev, S., and Milly, P. C. D.:
Snowfall less sensitive to warming in Karakoram than in Himalayas due to a
unique seasonal cycle, Nat. Geosci., 7, 834, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2269,
2014. a, b, c
Ke, L., Ding, X., and Song, C.: Heterogeneous changes of glaciers over the
western Kunlun Mountains based on ICESat and Landsat-8 derived glacier
inventory, Remote Sens. Environ., 168, 13–23,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2015.06.019, 2015. a, b, c, d
Kenzhebaev, R., Barandun, M., Kronenberg, M., Chen, Y., Usubaliev, R., and
Hoelzle, M.: Mass balance observations and reconstruction for Batysh Sook
Glacier, Tien Shan, from 2004 to 2016, Cold Reg. Sci. Technol.,
135, 76–89, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2016.12.007, 2017. a
Kraaijenbrink, P. D. A., Bierkens, M. F. P., Lutz, A. F., and Immerzeel, W. W.:
Impact of a global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius on Asia's
glaciers, Nature, 549, 257–260, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature23878, 2017. a
Kronenberg, M., Barandun, M., Hoelzle, M., Huss, M., Farinotti, D., Azisov, E.,
Usubaliev, R., Gafurov, A., Petrakov, D., and Kääb, A.: Mass-balance
reconstruction for Glacier No. 354, Tien Shan, from 2003 to 2014, Ann. Glaciol., 57, 92–102, https://doi.org/10.3189/2016AoG71A032, 2016. a
Kropáček, J., Braun, A., Kang, S., Feng, C., Ye, Q., and Hochschild,
V.: Analysis of lake level changes in Nam Co in central Tibet utilizing
synergistic satellite altimetry and optical imagery, Int. J.
Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinf., 17, 3–11,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2011.10.001, 2012. a
Kuhle, M.: The cold deserts of high Asia (Tibet and contiguous mountains),
GeoJournal, 20, 319–323, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00642997, 1990. a, b
Lehner, B. and Döll, P.: Development and validation of a global database of
lakes, reservoirs and wetlands, J. Hydrol., 296, 1–22,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2004.03.028, 2004. a, b, c
Lehner, B., Verdin, K., and Jarvis, A.: New global hydrography derived from
spaceborne elevation data, Eos, T. Am. Geophys. Union, 89,
93–94, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008EO100001, 2008. a
Lei, Y., Yao, T., Bird, B., Yang, K., Zhai, J., and Sheng, Y.: Coherent lake
growth on the central Tibetan Plateau since the 1970s: Characterization and
attribution, J. Hydrol., 483, 61–67,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.01.003, 2013. a, b, c
Li, Z., Fang, H., Tian, L., Dai, Y., and Zong, J.: Changes in the glacier
extent and surface elevation in Xiongcaigangri region, Southern Karakoram
Mountains, China, Quaternary Int., 371, 67–75,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.12.004, 2015. a
Liu, X. and Chen, B.: Climatic warming in the Tibetan Plateau during recent
decades, Int. J. Climatol., 20, 1729–1742,
https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0088(20001130)20:14<1729::AID-JOC556>3.0.CO;2-Y, 2000. a
Matsuo, K. and Heki, K.: Time-variable ice loss in Asian high mountains from
satellite gravimetry, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 290, 30–36,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2009.11.053, 2010. a
McNabb, R., Nuth, C., Kääb, A., and Girod, L.: Sensitivity of glacier volume change estimation to DEM void interpolation, The Cryosphere, 13, 895–910, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-895-2019, 2019. a
Mölg, T., Maussion, F., Yang, W., and Scherer, D.: The footprint of Asian monsoon dynamics in the mass and energy balance of a Tibetan glacier, The Cryosphere, 6, 1445–1461, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1445-2012, 2012. a
Mölg, T., Maussion, F., and Scherer, D.: Mid-latitude westerlies as a driver
of glacier variability in monsoonal High Asia, Nat. Clim. Change, 4,
68–73, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2055, 2014. a, b
Mukhopadhyay, B. and Khan, A.: A quantitative assessment of the genetic sources
of the hydrologic flow regimes in Upper Indus Basin and its significance in
a changing climate, J. Hydrol., 509, 549–572,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.11.059, 2014. a
Narama, C., Kääb, A., Duishonakunov, M., and Abdrakhmatov, K.: Spatial
variability of recent glacier area changes in the Tien Shan Mountains,
Central Asia, using Corona (1970), Landsat (2000), and ALOS (2007)
satellite data, Global Planet. Change, 71, 42–54,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2009.08.002, 2010. a, b, c
Neckel, N., Kropáček, J., Bolch, T., and Hochschild, V.: Glacier mass
changes on the Tibetan Plateau 2003–2009 derived from ICESat laser altimetry
measurements, Environ. Res. Lett., 9, 014009,
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/1/014009, 2014. a, b, c
Nuth, C. and Kääb, A.: Co-registration and bias corrections of satellite elevation data sets for quantifying glacier thickness change, The Cryosphere, 5, 271–290, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-271-2011, 2011. a
Orsolini, Y., Wegmann, M., Dutra, E., Liu, B., Balsamo, G., Yang, K., de Rosnay, P., Zhu, C., Wang, W., Senan, R., and Arduini, G.: Evaluation of snow depth and snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau in global reanalyses using in situ and satellite remote sensing observations, The Cryosphere, 13, 2221–2239, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2221-2019, 2019. a, b, c, d
Palazzi, E., von Hardenberg, J., and Provenzale, A.: Precipitation in the
Hindu-Kush Karakoram Himalaya: Observations and future scenarios, J.
Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 118, 85–100, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JD018697,
2013. a, b
Pekel, J.-F., Cottam, A., Gorelick, N., and Belward, A. S.: High-resolution
mapping of global surface water and its long-term changes, Nature, 540,
418–422, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature20584, 2016. a, b, c, d
Pellicciotti, F., Stephan, C., Miles, E., Herreid, S., Immerzeel, W. W., and
Bolch, T.: Mass-balance changes of the debris-covered glaciers in the
Langtang Himal, Nepal, from 1974 to 1999, J. Glaciol., 61,
373–386, https://doi.org/10.3189/2015JoG13J237, 2015. a, b
Phan, H. V., Lindenbergh, R., and Menenti, M.: Assessing orographic variability
in glacial thickness changes at the Tibetan Plateau using ICESat laser
altimetry, Remote Sens., 9, 160, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9020160, 2017. a
Pieczonka, T., Bolch, T., Junfeng, W., and Shiyin, L.: Heterogeneous mass loss
of glaciers in the Aksu-Tarim Catchment (Central Tien Shan) revealed by 1976
KH-9 Hexagon and 2009 SPOT-5 stereo imagery, Remote Sens. Environ.,
130, 233–244, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2012.11.020, 2013. a
Qin, J., Yang, K., Liang, S., and Guo, X.: The altitudinal dependence of recent
rapid warming over the Tibetan Plateau, Clim. Change, 97, 321,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-009-9733-9, 2009. a
Quincey, D. J., Braun, M., Glasser, N. F., Bishop, M. P., Hewitt, K., and
Luckman, A.: Karakoram glacier surge dynamics, Geophys. Res. Lett.,
38, L18504, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL049004, 2011. a
Ragettli, S., Bolch, T., and Pellicciotti, F.: Heterogeneous glacier thinning patterns over the last 40 years in Langtang Himal, Nepal, The Cryosphere, 10, 2075–2097, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2075-2016, 2016. a, b
Ramanathan, A.: Status report on Chhota Shigri glacier (Himachal Pradesh),
Himalayan glaciology technical report no.1, Department of Science and
Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, New Delhi, 2011. a
Ran, Y., Li, X., and Cheng, G.: Climate warming over the past half century has led to thermal degradation of permafrost on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, The Cryosphere, 12, 595–608, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-595-2018, 2018. a, b, c, d
Rasmussen, L. A.: Meteorological controls on glacier mass balance in High
Asia, Ann. Glaciol., 54, 352–359, https://doi.org/10.3189/2013AoG63A353, 2013. a
Reichle, R. H., Draper, C. S., Liu, Q., Girotto, M., Mahanama, S. P. P.,
Koster, R. D., and De Lannoy, G. J. M.: Assessment of MERRA-2 land surface
hydrology estimates, J. Climate, 30, 2937–2960,
https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0720.1, 2017a. a
Reichle, R. H., Liu, Q., Koster, R. D., Draper, C. S., Mahanama, S. P. P., and
Partyka, G. S.: Land Surface Precipitation in MERRA-2, J. Climate,
30, 1643–1664, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0570.1, 2017b. a
RGI Consortium: Randolph Glacier Inventory – A Dataset of Global Glacier
Outlines: Version 6.0, Tech. rep., Global Land Ice Measurements from Space,
Colorado, USA. Digital Media, https://doi.org/10.7265/n5-rgi-60, 2017. a, b, c
Rodriguez, E., Morris, C. S., and Belz, J. E.: A Global Assessment of the
SRTM Performance, Photogramm. Eng. Rem. S., 72,
249–260, https://doi.org/10.14358/PERS.72.3.249, 2006. a
Sakai, A., Nuimura, T., Fujita, K., Takenaka, S., Nagai, H., and Lamsal, D.: Climate regime of Asian glaciers revealed by GAMDAM glacier inventory, The Cryosphere, 9, 865–880, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-865-2015, 2015. a
Salzmann, N., Huggel, C., Rohrer, M., and Stoffel, M.: Data and knowledge gaps
in glacier, snow and related runoff research – A climate change adaptation
perspective, J. Hydrol., 518, 225–234,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.05.058, 2014. a
Scherler, D., Bookhagen, B., and Strecker, M. R.: Spatially variable response
of Himalayan glaciers to climate change affected by debris cover, Nat.
Geosci., 4, 156–159, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1068, 2011. a, b, c
Schiemann, R., Lüthi, D., and Schär, C.: Seasonality and interannual
variability of the westerly jet in the Tibetan Plateau region, J.
Climate, 22, 2940–2957, https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JCLI2625.1, 2009. a
Schutz, B. E., Zwally, H. J., Shuman, C. A., Hancock, D., and DiMarzio, J. P.:
Overview of the ICESat Mission, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L21S01,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL024009, 2005. a, b
Sen, P. K.: Estimates of the regression coefficient based on Kendall's tau,
J. Am. Stat. Assoc., 63, 1379–1389,
https://doi.org/10.2307/2285891, 1968. a, b
Shangguan, D., Liu, S., Ding, Y., Li, J., Zhang, Y., Ding, L., Wang, X., Xie,
C., and Li, G.: Glacier changes in the west Kunlun Shan from 1970 to 2001
derived from Landsat TM/ETM+ and Chinese glacier inventory data, Ann.
Glaciol., 46, 204–208, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756407782871693, 2007. a
Shangguan, D. H., Bolch, T., Ding, Y. J., Kröhnert, M., Pieczonka, T., Wetzel, H. U., and Liu, S. Y.: Mass changes of Southern and Northern Inylchek Glacier, Central Tian Shan, Kyrgyzstan, during ∼1975 and 2007 derived from remote sensing data, The Cryosphere, 9, 703–717, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-703-2015, 2015. a, b
Shi, Y. and Liu, S.: Estimation on the response of glaciers in China to the
global warming in the 21st century, Chinese Sci. Bull., 45, 668–672,
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02886048, 2000. a, b
Shi, Y., Shen, Y., Kang, E., Li, D., Ding, Y., Zhang, G., and Hu, R.: Recent
and future climate change in Northwest China, Clim. Change, 80,
379–393, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-006-9121-7, 2007. a
Smith, T. and Bookhagen, B.: Changes in seasonal snow water equivalent
distribution in High Mountain Asia (1987 to 2009), Sci. Adv., 4, e1701550,
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1701550, 2018. a
Song, C., Huang, B., and Ke, L.: Modeling and analysis of lake water storage
changes on the Tibetan Plateau using multi-mission satellite data, Remote
Sens. Environ., 135, 25–35, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2013.03.013, 2013. a
Sorg, A., Bolch, T., Stoffel, M., Solomina, O., and Beniston, M.: Climate
change impacts on glaciers and runoff in Tien Shan (Central Asia), Nat.
Clim. Change, 2, 725–731, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1592, 2012. a
Sun, J. and Zhang, F.: Daily extreme precipitation and trends over China,
Sci. China Earth Sci., 60, 2190–2203,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-016-9117-8, 2017. a
Sun, Q., Miao, C., Duan, Q., Ashouri, H., Sorooshian, S., and Hsu, K.-L.: A
review of global precipitation data sets: data sources, estimation, and
intercomparisons, Rev. Geophys., 56, 79–107,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2017RG000574, 2018. a, b
Tao, H., Gemmer, M., Bai, Y., Su, B., and Mao, W.: Trends of streamflow in the
Tarim River Basin during the past 50 years: Human impact or climate change?,
J. Hydrol., 400, 1–9, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.01.016, 2011. a
Tao, H., Borth, H., Fraedrich, K., Su, B., and Zhu, X.: Drought and wetness
variability in the Tarim River Basin and connection to large-scale
atmospheric circulation, Int. J. Climatol., 34,
2678–2684, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3867, 2014. a
Tian, H., Yang, T., and Liu, Q.: Climate change and glacier area shrinkage in
the Qilian mountains, China, from 1956 to 2010, Ann. Glaciol., 55,
187–197, https://doi.org/10.3189/2014AoG66A045, 2014. a, b
Treichler, D. and Kääb, A.: Snow depth from ICESat laser altimetry – A
test study in southern Norway, Remote Sens. Environ., 191, 389–401,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2017.01.022, 2017. a, b
Vijay, S. and Braun, M.: Elevation change rates of glaciers in the
Lahaul-Spiti (Western Himalaya, India) during 2000–2012 and 2012–2013,
Remote Sens., 8, 1038, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs8121038, 2016. a
Wagnon, P., Vincent, C., Arnaud, Y., Berthier, E., Vuillermoz, E., Gruber, S., Ménégoz, M., Gilbert, A., Dumont, M., Shea, J. M., Stumm, D., and Pokhrel, B. K.: Seasonal and annual mass balances of Mera and Pokalde glaciers (Nepal Himalaya) since 2007, The Cryosphere, 7, 1769–1786, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1769-2013, 2013. a, b, c, d, e
Wang, D. and Kääb, A.: Modeling glacier elevation change from DEM time
series, Remote Sens., 7, 10117–10142, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs70810117, 2015. a
WGMS: Fluctuations of Glaciers Database, Digital data, World Glacier Monitoring
Service, Zurich, Switzerland, https://doi.org/10.5904/wgms-fog-2016-08, 2016. a, b
Yao, T., Thompson, L., Yang, W., Yu, W., Gao, Y., Guo, X., Yang, X., Duan, K.,
Zhao, H., Xu, B., Pu, J., Lu, A., Xiang, Y., Kattel, D. B., and Joswiak, D.:
Different glacier status with atmospheric circulations in Tibetan Plateau
and surroundings, Nat. Clim. Change, 2, 663–667,
https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1580, 2012.
a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j
Yi, S. and Sun, W.: Evaluation of glacier changes in high-mountain Asia based
on 10 year GRACE RL05 models, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea.,
119, 2504–2517, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JB010860, 2014. a
Zhang, D., Sun, B., Ke, C.-Q., Li, X., Cui, X.-B., and Guo, J.-X.: Mapping the
elevation change of Lambert Glacier in East Antarctica using ICESat GLAS,
J. Maps, 8, 473–477, https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2012.747355, 2012. a, b
Zhang, G., Xie, H., Kang, S., Yi, D., and Ackley, S. F.: Monitoring lake level
changes on the Tibetan Plateau using ICESat altimetry data (2003–2009),
Remote Sens. Environ., 115, 1733–1742,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2011.03.005, 2011. a, b
Zhang, G., Yao, T., Xie, H., Kang, S., and Lei, Y.: Increased mass over the
Tibetan Plateau: from lakes or glaciers?, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40,
2125–2130, https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50462, 2013. a, b
Zhang, G., Yao, T., Shum, C. K., Yi, S., Yang, K., Xie, H., Feng, W., Bolch,
T., Wang, L., Behrangi, A., Zhang, H., Wang, W., Xiang, Y., and Yu, J.: Lake
volume and groundwater storage variations in Tibetan Plateau's endorheic
basin, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 5550–5560,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL073773, 2017. a, b, c, d, e
Zhang, Z., Chang, J., Xu, C.-Y., Zhou, Y., Wu, Y., Chen, X., Jiang, S., and
Duan, Z.: The response of lake area and vegetation cover variations to
climate change over the Qinghai-Tibetan Platea during the past 30 years,
Sci. Total Environ., 635, 443–451,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.113, 2018. a, b
Zou, D., Zhao, L., Sheng, Y., Chen, J., Hu, G., Wu, T., Wu, J., Xie, C., Wu, X., Pang, Q., Wang, W., Du, E., Li, W., Liu, G., Li, J., Qin, Y., Qiao, Y., Wang, Z., Shi, J., and Cheng, G.: A new map of permafrost distribution on the Tibetan Plateau, The Cryosphere, 11, 2527–2542, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2527-2017, 2017. a
Zwally, H., Schutz, R., Hancock, D., and Dimarzio, J.: GLAS/ICESat L2 Global
Land Surface Altimetry Data, Versions 33/34, GLAH14, Dataset, NASA DAAC at
the National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, Colorado USA,
https://doi.org/10.5067/ICESAT/GLAS/DATA207, 2012. a, b
Short summary
Glacier growth such as that found on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is counterintuitive in a warming world. Climate models and meteorological data are conflicting about the reasons for this glacier anomaly. We quantify the glacier changes in High Mountain Asia using satellite laser altimetry as well as the growth of over 1300 inland lakes on the TP. Our study suggests that increased summer precipitation is likely the largest contributor to the recently observed increases in glacier and lake masses.
Glacier growth such as that found on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is counterintuitive in a warming...
